The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned in strong terms the failure of the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC), under the chairmanship of Alhaji Okanla Baba, to fulfill its promises of kickstarting local government electoral processes in February as stated in the commission’s official statement earlier 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 Governor Abdulrazaq’s tool rather than the people’s institution.
This policy somersault, which is not the first time for KWASIEC, has already established the fear of all Kwarans and the position of Kwara PDP during the last public hearing on the LG amendment bill, which had been imposed as law on Kwara state that the Abdulrazaq-led APC government is not prepared to conduct LG elections in the state until year 2025.
In a statement issued in Ilorin yesterday signed by the PDP Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Olusola Adewara (Sholyments), the Party maintained that the present KWASIEC, under the chairmanship of Alhaji Okanla Baba, is being remote-controlled by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, 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 in 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,” the party added.
“Meanwhile, the Kwara PDP is displeased with Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq 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.
“Just like the people of Kwara, we are deeply disappointed that a man who rode on the Otoge (Change) mantra and prides himself as the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum could exhibit such impunity and affront on Nigerian law. We make bold to say the Nigerian Governors Forum of this dispensation will continue to lose her reputation and national acceptability if a man who continues to illegally usurp the administration of 16 LGAs with reckless impunity is now the symbol of such an exalted forum in Nigeria.
“Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and the Yakubu-led Kwara State House of Assembly will continue to be held responsible and bear the burden for the blood of innocent Kwarans being callously shed by bandits and kidnappers at the grassroots, as well as the untold hardship, hunger, and insecurity faced by people in remote communities for almost five years due to their deliberate refusal to give the local government areas democratically elected structures to oversee their affairs.
“In conclusion, we call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) to exercise their executive power and halt further disbursement of monthly allocations due to the sixteen LG areas in Kwara which is the major reason LGAs have been under siege. This action will not only compel Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to promptly conduct LG elections in the state but also help in breathing a sense of relief and restore peace and order to our people at the grassroots.”
