By Olu Tofeek

Less than a week after local government elections held in Kwara State, controversies are trailing the outcome of the exercise.

Indeed, the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission, KWSIEC, has also come under fire for overseeing what many termed a sham election.

Reason: critics argue that it is practically impossible for the All Progressives Congress, APC, to have a sweeping victory in the state’s 193 councilorship seats and 16 Local Government Area chairmanship positions without manipulations.

Recall that penultimate Saturday, council elections were held in Kwara State for the first time since 2017, bringing to an end seven years of administration by caretaker committees appointed by the governor.

Peaceful election

Chairman of KWASIEC, Mr Muhammad Okanla-Baba, announced the results at the office of the commission in the state.

Okanla-Baba, who said five parties presented candidates for the elections into the chairmanship and councillorship seats, clarified that the five political parties were APC, Allied Peoples Movement, APM, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Social Democratic Party, SDP, and Accord.

Commending the political parties for their commitment to a peaceful election, which he said did not record any major casualty, Okanla-Baba said: “We also like to praise security agencies for ensuring peace and orderliness throughout the voting process in a professional manner.”

Issues

Despite lauding the serenity that permeated the polls, observers are picking holes stating that no Nigerian, particularly Kwarans, would have voted for the APC given the party’s abysmal performance in the state and the country at large over the last nine years.

The stakeholders believe that such widespread support for the APC in the face of biting hunger, rising unemployment and economy-wrecking inflation does not reflect the general sentiment of the electorate regarding the APC.

They argue that whereas President Bola Tinubu has been unable to set the country on the path of development as he promised, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq has not commissioned any project in the past five years and six months, making him a potential failure.

Briefly speaking, they said: “The governor is aloof. To make matters worse, he has no relationship with the ordinary people who hardly see or relate with him. In fact, there is a revolt against the imposition of unpopular candidates by the governor in APC, which alienated some of the party members. In addition, AbdulRasaq has also alienated all the key figures in the party who started the O to Ge (it is enough) revolution with him. That is why O to Ge has been replaced by O su Wa (we are tired).”

For them, the intense mobilisation by the PDP and other opposition parties before and on the D-Day may be proof that the APC used some underhand tactics to ensure it cleared all the slots, which is to the detriment of the electorate who are clamouring for good governance.

Desecration of democracy – PDP

Meanwhile, the PDP in Kwara State has rejected the outcome of Saturday’s Local Government election, describing it as a desecration of democracy.

The PDP insisted that the exercise was a waste of taxpayers’ money and an elevation of fraud to a height never witnessed before in the state.

Accusing the APC of connivance with KWSIEC to manipulate the local government election and subvert the people’s will, the Party, in a statement, called for immediate cancellation of the election and conduct of a fresh poll.

Calling for a properly constituted tribunal to be headed by a judge of the High Court, as required by the law, PDP maintained that it will explore legal means to restore the stolen mandate of the people.

A statement by the PDP’s Publicity Secretary in Kwara, Mr Olusegun Adewara, said: “KWSIEC’s actions on election day not only fell short of the minimum global standards expected of an election umpire but also openly facilitated and participated in the desecration of democracy that occurred across Kwara State.

“Elections did not take place in about 85% of polling units and wards across the 16 local government areas of the state. The people rejected an orchestrated plot to use the few ballot papers released to some polling units as a basis for authenticating a premeditated outcome.”

Kwarans sent clear signals of rejection – Saraki

Although upset by the development, former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, commended Kwarans for the courage demonstrated at the polls.

According to him, the electorate, against all odds, sent a clear signal of rejection to the APC-led administration.

A statement by his Press Officer on Political Matters, Abdulganiyu Abdulqadir, Saraki stated: “Even though the Kwara State Government in collaboration with its State Electoral Commission announced different results from what obtained at the numerous polling units across the 16 local government areas of the state, the people rose above partisan consideration to take a stand against bad governance. In a manner that went beyond partisan consideration and gave expression to the protection of community interests, people from Kwara mobilised themselves to the polling units and met the absence of electoral officials and shoddy preparations by the electoral body.

“Yet, the people stood firm against the deliberately concocted frustrations. In some areas, the votes were heavily stacked against APC candidates. In other areas, the voters stood against a system in which less than ten percent of the ballot papers were supplied to polling units for the huge number of accredited voters with no result sheets supplied, amongst other inadequacies.

“Whatever results the electoral body eventually declared, our people have sent a clear signal to a government that has not made any significant, positive impact on their lives after 64 months in office. It is a shame that the 16 local government areas now have Chairmen and Councilors who would be in office without legitimacy and people’s mandate. Kwarans have demonstrated that democracy is about the people and any government that refused to serve the purpose for which it was elected will be voted out.

“The people of Kwara state deserve to be praised for demonstrating how politically savvy, sophisticated, and discerning they are. A government that continuously takes the people for granted will get its deserved result at the polls. I join numerous Kwarans to thank and commend the various political parties, community development associations, youth groups, religious bodies, and others who form the core of the democratic action that we witnessed on Saturday.

“The good people of Kwara State spoke loud and clear last Saturday. Those who can listen heard them too. Once again, the people deserve our commendation and a big pat on the back. They demonstrated character, courage, clarity of vision, and conviction. It is yet a new dawn in Kwara State.”

*Tofeek, a grassroots politician, writes from Ilorin