By: TUNDE BOLAJI –MINNA.
The reconstitution of the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) by Governor Mohammed Umar Bago was under the law the All Progressives Congress APC has claimed.
It stated that Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago obeyed the law in his reconstitution of the State Independent Electoral Commission.
However, the main opposition party in the state, the PDP, had last week cried foul when the 7-man list was released, saying they are all members of the APC and would be compromised in the discharge of their assignment -conduct of Local Government election.
In their own reaction, the ruling APC, in a statement made available to newsmen and signed by its Publicity Secretary Musa Sarkinkaji (S K), said all the nominees had since resigned their memberships of the ruling party.
He noted that this has made them eligible to serve in the Commission, saying that “there is no aspect of the law that stops a person that had resigned his membership of the party he belonged to from being nominated into the Commission”.
Going down memory lane, the APC spokesman said card-carrying members of the PDP were nominated into the Commission by former Governor late Alhaji Abdulkhadir Kure as well as former Governor Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu and the immediate past Governor, now Senator Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello.
“What is important is to get people of impeccable character to serve in this important commission, and that is what Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago has done,” Sarkinkaji declared.
He, therefore, urged the PDP to have confidence in the ability of the nominees to discharge their responsibilities without bias to any political party but the growth and development of democracy in the state.
The APC spokesman said he would not speak for the proposed chairman of the Commission, who was said to have been found guilty of corruption, but added: “We advise Engineer Jibrin Imam to seek redress in court for damage done to his reputation by the PDP”.
“As we await the screening and clearance of these eminent Nigerlites, we have absolute confidence that they will perform creditably in the assignment the people of the state have given them; all we need is everyone’s, including Yahaya’s ability sprayers for them to succeed in conducting a peaceful local government election.”
