Hammed Shittu in Ilorin
The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has decried the continued suffering of the people of the 16 local government councils of the state as the state has not conducted local government elections since 2019.
The party in a statement issued in Ilorin yesterday and signed by its state Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olusegun Olusola Adewara, said the development has also resulted in the high rate of insecurity and the crippling of governance at the grassroots administration.
According to the statement, “We are displeased with the present administration in the state for deliberately failing to conduct LG elections for over four years of his administration, thereby crippling governance at that level and subjecting grassroots communities to untold hardship, rampant insecurity, and avoidable hunger.”
The party, however, berated the state Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC) for its failure to fulfill its promise of kick- starting the process of holding council elections in February this year.
The party noted that for the commission to renege on its earlier February promise without any further explanation to the people affirmed that the KWASIEC has turned to tool rather than the people’s institution.
The party stated: “This policy somersault, which is not the first time for KWASIEC, has already established the fear of all Kwarans and the position of the state PDP during the last public hearing on the LG amendment bill, which had been imposed as law on Kwara State that the APC-led administration is not prepared to conduct local government elections in the state until year 2025.”
The party maintained that the present KWASIEC under the chairmanship of Alhaji Okanla Baba, is being remote-controlled somewhere, thus losing public credibility to undertake LG electoral exercises that will be free, fair and acceptable to all Kwarans.
“For the umpteenth time, our party hereby passes a vote of no confidence on the Okanla-led KWASIEC, and calls for its immediate dissolution, failure of which the party will be forced to take legal action to rectify these anomalies and planned rape on grassroots democracy.
“No Kwaran will sit back comfortably and watch KWASIEC which had pledged its loyalty to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and promised never to disappoint him be a referee on LG elections in the state,” he added.
