From Divine Macaulay, in Kaduna
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna State has alleged gross irregularities in the local government elections held across the state’s 23 Local Government Areas.
The State Chairman of the PDP, Edward Masha, said this while addressing the media in Kaduna, today (Sunday).
Masha, a former Commissioner of Water Resources in Kaduna State, expressed concerns over the exclusion of crucial materials, specifically ward and local government result sheets, from the electoral process.
“We were invited by SIECOM to receive sensitive materials from the Central Bank of Nigeria, but upon inspection, we discovered that the result sheets were missing.
“This omission compromised the integrity of the elections, and our representatives stood against the impunity.
Masha accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of killing democracy and undermining the electoral process.
The Chairman noted that “The APC has appointed its chairmanship candidates for the poll, knowing fully well that local government elections are the bedrock of democracy.
“But today, they said no. We will appoint chairmen for us like sole administrators by the government.”
He added that the PDP would challenge the process in court and continue to seek justice for the people.
“We will not accept this charade. We will not accept the killing of democracy. We will challenge this process in court, and we will continue to seek justice for our people.”
Masha highlighted several irregularities and concerns observed during the elections, noting that ward and local government result sheets were missing from the electoral materials.
“Polling unit result sheets from 2021 were released instead of new ones, and the electoral process lacked transparency, with materials not being distributed fairly.
“The Kaduna State Government assured us that all electoral materials, including result sheets, would be provided, but the reverse is true. This is a deliberate attempt to undermine the democratic process.”
The PDP chairman called on lovers of democracy and security agencies to take note of the situation, saying “Kaduna State is sick, and democracy is gone. We need to bring this to the public’s attention and demand justice.”
He also urged party members and supporters to not be discouraged. “We will continue to fight for democracy and justice. We will not give up.”
