Laleye Dipo in Minna
The Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) has said that its decision to levy all candidates contesting the November 30, 2019 local government elections is backed by law and will not be withdrawn.
The SIEC Chairman, Alhaji Aminu Baba Alhaji, who disclosed this while addressing newsmen in Minna on Friday, said the law was passed by the state House of Assembly, assented to by Governor Abubakar Sani Bello and gazetted by government on June 25, 2019.
Alhaji said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which objected to the policy, were duly informed of the existence of the legislation during a stakeholders meeting where the PDP chairman was in attendance.
Quoting relevant sections of the law, the SIEC chairman said section 26 of the law states: “Notwithstanding anything that may be contained in this law or any other enactment, every candidate seeking to contest for an elective position in the local government council election in the state shall before the candidates nomination papers are delivered pay to the commission administrative charges.”
According to the chairman, “The administrative charges postulated by the law include for the chairmanship, subject to the campaign spending limit of N10 million shall pay 1 per cent, which translate to N100,000.
“For the councillorship, subject to the campaign spending limit of N1 million shall pay 2 per cent which translates to N20,000.”
“We have been acting within the limits of the law we met with the leadership of the political parties before taking our action. We did not fix the charges arbitrarily” he said, adding other states including Kaduna and the South-south states have similar legislation.
“All contestants have been paying, even some PDP candidates have been paying,” he said.
The SIEC chairman accused the PDP of playing politics with a very serious matter, adding that “we will not join them in their politics”.
He said the SIEC was ready to face the PDP in the law court because “we have not done anything illegal”.
The PDP, had on Tuesday, rejected the administrative charges imposed on candidates contesting the local government elections by SIEC, describing the action as not only illegal but unconstitutional.
The state chairman of the party, Tanko Beji, had told newsmen in Minna that the party had written to SIEC to withdraw the decision, adding that if the commission failed to do so, the party (PDP) will have no option than to test the veracity of the law in the court.