Taraba State Independent Electoral Commission (TSIEC), has described as false the allegations against the commission, saying it has no plan to shortchange or manipulate election results in favour of the ruling party in the state
The state TSIEC chairman, Phillip Duwe, who reacted to the comments credited to the state APC chairman, Ibrahim Tukur El-sudi, against the commission, said since the electoral process began in 11th June for the November local government election, it has provided a level playing ground for all the 19 political parties ready to participate in the exercise.
He called on members of the public and other political parties to disregard the claim by the state APC chairman, as the party is bereft of the law guiding the commission’s operation.
According to Duwe, ‘the claims on the Supreme Court ruling on the charging fees for candidates for the local government election are not true.’
The state TSIEC chairman said that despite efforts to involve all political parties and members of the public, the commission has been dragged to court.
According to Duwe, “I don’t want to talk about any case that is in court, but as law-abiding citizens, we have done nothing wrong in our operation. It may interest you to know that there is a law guiding the operation of the commission, which has not been compromised since the commencement of the process on June 11.
“We are operating within the framework of the commission’s law and the constitution, without sentiment or giving preference to any political party over another,” he said.
He further stated that the commission has not only consulted the parties on the forthcoming local government election, but it has also engaged them with the right information, materials and guidelines distributed to all the parties.
“There is a law establishing the commission, and we have not gone outside the law in what we are doing. And so far, we have created a level playing ground for every participant and political party.
“We were very meticulous in all we do, because what is good for one is good others.
The commission has respect for the law, and we will not want to do anything that will jeopardise its mandate.”
It would be recalled that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had, in a press briefing on Monday, accused the Taraba State Independent Election Commission (TSIEC) of plans to nominate and announce candidates for the chairmanship and councillorship positions in the forthcoming local government election in the state.
The APC in Taraba said that, the mandatory payment of non-refundable fees by candidates is a ploy to frustrate opposition political parties.
“In the guideline given to us by TSIEC, a Chairmanship candidate will pay a non-refundable fee of N1 million, Vice Chairman will pay N500,000, and their female counterparts will pay N250,000 for the purchase of forms, while councillors are to pay a non-refundable sum of N150,000, while their female counterparts would pay N75,000.”
The APC, however, frowns at the N1 million tax clearance fee for chairmanship candidates and N500,000 for councillorship, saying the amount charged by the commission and the Taraba State Board of Internal Revenue is too high, considering the hardships Nigerians are facing.
“We urge the commission to remove the clause from its guideline to allow parties to freely nominate candidates,” El-sudi decried.
