The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Jigawa State has indicated that it will boycott the forthcoming Jigawa State Local Government Election billed for October 5th, 2024 as it has no confidence in the State Electoral commission
A statement issued on Tuesday which was msde available to the National Update and signed by the State chairman of the party Hon. Ali Diginsa, indicated that the PDP as a party is not convinced that the Jigawa State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) will be fair and just in Conducting the election.
According to him, the chairman and members of the commission, are not only card-carrying members af the APC, but active and participatory members of the party in the state which clearly contravened the law establishing the cominission.
“The hasty decision to conduct the election was made after a jittery anticipation of the scrapping of state electoral bodies .
“The cost of the nomination forms as announced by SIEC is not only exorbitant but extortive and senseless aimed at disenfranchising members of the opposition especially in veiw of the present excruciating economic hardship inflicted on the people by the APC.
“We believed that members of the APC and some small political parties (who will be stooges of the govt) will be given the forms free of charge.
“The estimated cost of what the PDP is supposed to pay is well over N709 million naira, if 10 political parties decided to buy the forms, SIEC will extort a Staggering N79 billion naira or more! This is far beyond their approved budget being that SIEC is not a profit making venture.
“This act of disenfranchisement by the APC govt of Jigawa state. is a clear demonstration of their fear of the unavoidable reparisal from the people as result of the govt’s mediocrity and inept misrule in the past nine years.
“We have appealed to the government and the SIEC to subsidize the cost of the nomination forms and make it affordable for all regardless of party affiliations, but for the fear of an imminent embarrassing defeat, they decided to make the forms as unaffordable as they wished.
He said N5m for the chairmanship position and N2m for counselorship position are on the high side.
Diginsa indicated that the APC was jittery and afraid of going into the election because they allegedly failed the Jigawa people by throwing them into abject poverty and hunger hence the reason they are making it difficult for opposition parties.
He called on the members of their great party to exercise a high degree of patience with the decision and be law abiding, as the time for general elections will surely come when the PDP will send the ruling Party, APC packing.
He also expressed gratitude for the unprecedented solidarity shown to the party by the general public who are everyday craving for the return of PDP with lots of nostalgia.
It would be recalled that the Jigawa State Independent Electoral Commission (JISIEC) had postponed the local government elections in the state earlier scheduled for June 2024 to June 2025, citing an amendment in the state’s Electoral Law as the basis for the development.
This came after PDP raised the alarm that the state House of Assembly was planning to tamper with local government electoral laws to pave the way for the appointment of caretaker committees in the 27 local government areas of the state.
Also, in an advertorial published earlier, the electoral commission’s chairman, Auwalu Muhammad Harbo had indicated that the polls have been “postponed following the amendment of Jigawa State Electoral Law of /012 to conform with the current Electoral Act of 2022 that provides 60 days as against the earlier 90 days as notice for all political parties to prepare for subsequent local government elections.
The commission therefore announced June 2025 as the month for the conduct of the local government council elections in all the 27 local government areas across Jigawa State.
However, following the Supreme Court judgement on Local Government autonomy and the apprehension of possible scrapping of the State electoral commission the Commission backpeddaled and hurriedly announced a new date of October 5th, 2024 for the conduct of the Local Government election in the State.
