in Dutse, even though the seeming silence in
and around the state may be mistaken for
the semblance of peace.
On the contrary, the two leading political
parties in the state, the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) and the ruling party, the All
Progressive Congress (APC) are at daggers
-drawn, with their eyes on the next elections
to settle old scores.
However, the earlier scheduled date for the
elections, which would have afforded the
parties a window to test their might, has
been indefinitely postponed by the Jigawa
State Independent Electoral Commission,
even as the tenure of the
current democratic leadership at the local
government level in the state drags to an
end in a matter of days.
In postponing the exercise, the Jigawa State
Independent Electoral Commission hinted
that it lacked the financial capacity to
conduct the election on the scheduled date.
It also claimed that it received letters of
complaint from 18 of the political parties in
the state, demanding additional time to
enable them to fully prepare and participate
in the exercise.
A day after the postponement by the SIEC,
the opposition PDP in the state held a
stakeholders’ meeting, where it announced
its stand on the development.
And when its position of protest on the
matter was left unattended by the Jigawa
State Independent Electoral Commission, the
party approached the Federal High Court in
Dutse to push its view and secure relief as
provided by the law.
In suit No. PHC/DT/CS1/2016, filed
against the State Independent Electoral
Commission at the Federal High Court, in
Dutse, the PDP in the state and the
nominated Local Government Chairmanship
candidates of the party, strongly objected
the shift in the date of the elections.
Joined in the suit as respondents were the
governor of the state, the Attorney General
of the state, the Minister of Finance, the
Chairman, Federation Accounts Allocation
Committee and the Attorney General of the
Federation.
In the originating summon, the PDP in the
state asked the court for the following
reliefs, namely a declaration to the effect
that by the Provision of Section 7 (1) of the
1999 Constitution of Nigeria, the 27 Local
Government Councils of the state can only
be administered by a democratically elected
government.
They also asked the court to cause the
Jigawa State Independent Electoral
Commission and the Jigawa State governor
not to derogate from the provision of the
same provision of the Constitution, which
guarantees a system of democratically
elected government councils in Jigawa State
Another relief sought by the party was a
declaration of nullity to any law whatsoever,
which is inconsistent with the Provisions of
the aforementioned Section or which seeks
to modify the system of democratically
elected Local Government Council in Jigawa
State.
A yet another relief sought by the party was
a declaration that the Jigawa State
Independent Electoral Commission cannot
suddenly postpone the elections after it had
released the guidelines for the conduct of
the Local Government elections on the
February 13, 2016 and had received monies
paid by the PDP candidates in the 27 local
government councils for their participation
in the elections.
They further sought an Order of Mandamus
compelling the Minister of Finance and the
Chairman of the Federal Accounts Allocation
Committee, to withhold the monies due to
the local government councils in Jigawa
State, pending the conduct and
enthronement of a democratic system of
government at the local government levels
of the state.
They finally prayed the court to give an
order of perpetual injunction restraining the
defendants from truncating the system of
democratically elected government at the
local government level of Jigawa State by
appointing any person or persons of their
choice to administer the 27 local
governments in the state.
Telling its story further, the PDP in the state
explained that the Jigawa State Independent
Electoral Commission had invited all the
registered political parties to a meeting on
November 12, 2015 where they indicated
their intention and readiness to conduct
polls into the offices of Chairmen and
Councilors in the 27 local government
councils on February 22,2016.
The PDP declared that in pursuit of the said
objectives and preparatory to the elections,
they held several meetings running into
millions of Naira in terms of the cost of
convening them as well as conducted their
primaries for its candidates into the 27
councils at a huge cost equally, besides
paying the sum of N2.7 million to the
Jigawa State independent Electoral
Commission.
“Surprisingly, in a brazen show of atavism
and a calculated attempt to truncate the
system of democratically elected local
government in the state, the electoral umpire
released a statement on January 5, 2016,
postponing the polls indefinitely without
giving reasons or explanations even after
the same was sought”, they stated.
Yakubu Adamu Danmaliki, the legal adviser
to the PDP in the state in a chat with Daily
Sun on Sunday in Kano felt that the Jigawa
State Independent Electoral Commission
was not acting independently in this plot,
saying that they were playing the script of
the APC government in the state.
As far as he was concerned, there was only
one possible reason for the postponement
of the polls and nothing more. He added
that, “the reason is the factor of fear’.
Having won the gubernatorial elections in
the state by the accident of external
fortunes, the party was conscious of the fact
that they were not on ground in the state
and could not make any impact, should an
election be held at this moment in the state.
He argued that apart from that, the ruling
APC had not been able to convince anybody
in the state, just as it had not done in the
center, that it had something to offer better
than what the previous PDP government in
the state had achieved for the masses of
Jigawa State. He was emphatic that they
were afraid of elections at this time because
they were sure of a certain defeat.
A related argument is the factor of finance.
With the dwindling resources from the center
due to oil glut, most of the state governors
are comfortable with the non-
democratization of the local council, said
Yusuf Bello, a student from one of the higher
institutions in Jigawa State.
“That situation gives them the opportunity
to appoint their cronies, under one guise or
the other, as administrators. The gains of
this action being that they can deploy the
allocations meant for the grassroots to their
own governance purposes and ventures”, he
added.
Chairman of the PDP in the state, Alhaji
Salisu Mamuda Ku’it has since faulted the
claims by the Independent Electoral
Commission that it had no fund, regretting
that the ruling APC government in the state
spent well over N400 million to host a grand
reception in the state recently.
His words: “The excuse given by this people
is very laughable. What we gleaned from the
press release was that, there was no money
to conduct the elections and the political
environment is not conducive, but it was
conducive enough for Governor
Muhammmad Badaru to invite eight APC
governors, the Speaker House of
Representatives, Ministers, Senators and
above all National Party Chairman of the
APC to celebrate the decamping of PDP
members with pomp and pageantry, costing
about four hundred million naira.”
He wondered how and why the same
government would boldly claim not to have
funds to undertake a fundamental duty
under the Constitution of Nigeria.
Attorney General of the State, Barrister Garin
-Gabas could not be reached for comment,
but the APC in the state, has described the
allegations as false and baseless.
A recent statement too by the Special
Assistance on media to Governor, Malam
Bello Muhammad Zaki denied the allegation
arguing that the cost of hosting
the defectors was shouldered by the APC,
and not with the fund of the state as
purported.
His words: “I wish to draw the attention of
the PDP that Jigawa State Independent
Electoral Commission (SIEC) is an
independent body set under the law to run
its affairs accordingly.
Therefore, it is free to do so without the
interference of the state government; thus,
the present administration under Governor
Badaru does not tamper with its activities,
or the activities of any other similar
organizations in the state.
As such, if the PDP or any other similar
organization has any legitimate issue with
the SIEC, it has the right to pursue it, but not
to join issues with governor”, he concluded.
With the battle of words boiling over, all eyes
are now fixed on the court to act fast and
act judiciously in the interest of justice.
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