The Peoples Democratic Party has vowed to contest the procedure in court and has accused the 23 local government districts of Kaduna State of having major anomalies in the way the local government elections were conducted.

The Social Democratic party demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of the commission’s chairman in the state, while the party also protested the way the elections were conducted in Kogi State.

On Saturday, October 19, 2024, the state’s local government elections were conducted by the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission and the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission for all councils.

The All Progressives Congress candidates won 23 chairmanship posts and 255 councillorship positions in the elections, according to KAD-SIECOM.

Eight political parties participated in the polls, according to KAD-SIECOM Chairman Hajiya Hajara Mohammed, who also announced the results. The APC won 255 council seats and 23 chairmanship posts.

“With the authority granted to the commission, I now want to verify the results that the returning officers had previously gathered and returned. I can certify that the APC has won 255 ward councillorship posts throughout the state in addition to 23 local government chairperson positions, she said.

Additionally, the APC was certified the winner of 239 council seats and 21 chairmanship positions by KOSIEC, which deemed the election free, fair, and credible.

“APC performed excellently; it cleared all the chairmanship and councillorship positions, leaving nothing to the other 18 political parties that took part in the election,” stated Mr. Mamman Nda-Eri, Chairman of KOSIEC, during the announcement of the results in Lokoja.

“I hereby confirm the results collated and returned by the Returning Officers in my capacity as Chairman of KOSIEC.”

Edward Masha, the PDP chairman for Kaduna State, claimed egregious anomalies.

Speaking to reporters about the poll’s results, Masha, a former Kaduna State commissioner of water resources, voiced concerns about the removal of important documents from the voting process—specifically, ward and local government result sheets.

“Upon examination, we found that the result sheets were missing, notwithstanding our invitation from SIECOM to get sensitive materials from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Masha said, “Our representatives protested the impunity, and this omission jeopardised the integrity of the elections.”

He said that the APC, which is now in power, is destroying democracy and meddling in elections.

Having chosen its candidates for the poll chairmanship, the APC is well aware that local government elections serve as the cornerstone of democracy.

However, they declined today. For us, the government will designate chairman in the same manner as sole administrators,” he continued.

He said that the PDP will keep fighting for the people’s justice in court and contest the procedure.

“This charade will not be tolerated.” We will not put up with democracy being destroyed. We’ll fight this procedure in court, and we’ll keep fighting for our people’s rights,” he declared.

Masha declared, “Kaduna State is sick, and democracy is gone,” pleading with supporters of democracy and security services to take notice of the circumstances. We must educate the people about this and seek redress.

In addition, the PDP chairman urged party members and supporters not to give up, saying, “We will keep fighting for democracy and justice.” We are not going to give up.

The Kogi State Independent Election Commission Chairman should be taken into custody and face charges right away, according to a request made by the Social Democratic Party, or SDP.

In a statement released on Sunday in response to the elections that were conducted in Kogi State, David Ijele, the Director of Media for the Muri/Sam Campaign Organisation, stated that the KOSIEC chairman ought to be taken into custody and charged with violating the law.

Yesterday was not an election day. The attempt to depict the election process as a scaled-down version of INEC was really a sham.

“We can’t carry on like this as a country, so lawlessness will peak in any future election and 2027 will be a bloodbath because the current government isn’t prepared to honour the people.” Ijele declared, “This country has to be saved.

Governor Usman Ododo, however, lauded KOSIEC for conducting a free, fair and credible election.

And Ododo expressed praise to the populace for their nonviolent behaviour both during and following the election.