Kaduna govt dismisses ADC coalition’s claim of plan to rig Saturday bye-election

Kaduna State Government has dismissed the claim by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) coalition, over allegations of plans to sabotage Saturday’s bye-elections in Chikun/Kajuru and state constituencies in Sabon Gari and Zaria.

This is as it described the allegations as “laughable lies” by “political leftovers” of former governor Nasir El-Rufai.

The coalition, led by ADC National Vice Chairman (North-West), Jafaru Ibrahim Sani, had on Thursday accused Governor Uba Sani’s administration of plotting to rig the Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency and state constituency elections in Zaria and Sabon-Gari through mass recruitment of thugs, bribery of electoral officials and vote buying.

To this end, the coalition called on INEC to guarantee the neutrality of its officials and its commitment to respect the will of the voters.

“Such a statement of commitment to election integrity must include the recusal of compromised personnel from the election process, their immediate recall and replacement with fresh electoral and technical support staff immediately.

But in a swift reaction, Kaduna State Government, in a press briefing by Commissioner of Information-designate, Ahmed Maiyaki, described the claims as baseless, mischievous, and a desperate attempt to discredit an election the coalition “knows it cannot win.”

Maiyaki, who was flanked by his counterpart from the Ministry for Local Government, Sadiq Mamman-Lagos, said the ADC/SDP coalition’s “poorly attended rallies” in recent weeks had already exposed their rejection by the electorate, prompting them to “cry wolf where there is none” as a face-saving measure ahead of defeat.

The coalition also alleged that plots of land were being offered to senior INEC officials as inducement, while a “disgraced former senator” known for electoral violence was put in charge of deploying the alleged funds for vote buying and security compromise.

It urged INEC to replace allegedly compromised personnel and called on security agencies to resist being used to subvert the people’s will. It further demanded the prosecution of the Commissioner for Local Government and others accused of recruiting thugs to disrupt the polls.

Maiyaki stressed that the state government has no role in election conduct, which is the exclusive responsibility of INEC, and accused the coalition of trying to drag the administration into “self-inflicted political misery.”

“We will not sit idly by while political opportunists smear the name of our administration and malign innocent officials with wild, unsubstantiated claims,” he said, adding that government lawyers had been directed to study the allegations for possible legal action.

Maiyaki reminded journalists of a past incident where “the former governor sent thugs to the NUJ Secretariat, injuring many colleagues,” saying such violence was alien to Governor Uba Sani’s leadership style.

“As we speak, the governor is in Chikun LGA flagging off the construction of Romi–Karatudu Township Roads — a community abandoned and demolished under El-Rufai’s eight-year rule,” he said.

Maiyaki accused the coalition of being unsettled by Uba Sani’s inclusive leadership, which he claimed had united the state and delivered tangible development.

He, however, urged voters to turn out en masse on Saturday and disregard the “rantings of political jobbers” masquerading as defenders of democracy.

“Democracy in Kaduna is alive and thriving — and no amount of theatre from El-Rufai’s political leftovers in ADC will change that,” he added.

Mamman-Lagos, on his part, dismissed the allegation of illegal deductions from local governments’ accounts, describing former Governor El-Rufai as a “frustrated politician who is sinking and wants to drag others along.”

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