It is evident that there is no political peace 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.
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.
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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