BY AMOS TAUNA, KADUNA – Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El Rufai has promised to probe allegations of irregularities in the May 12, 2018 local government election, assuring that the State government will take steps necessary to address the situation.
He said despite human factors that may have affected some aspects of the election, it was encouraging that Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) worked perfectly.
Governor el-Rufai told journalists after the All Progressive Congress (APC) local government congress for Kaduna North Local Government Council that reported malfeasance in some areas would be thoroughly investigated and remedial actions taken to protect the polls’ integrity.
“We have received reports of some electoral officers leaving their position. The Electronic Voting Machine worked very well but the human factors are always there and must be addressed.
“They will be investigated and we will learn from it. But what we are happy about is that the electronic voting machines worked perfectly.
According to him, “They (voting machines) also contained vital information that election riggers do not know about. We will investigate everything and we will take every step to remedy them.”
The governor said the council polls’ outcome clearly indicated that APC members in the State remain united and focused, adding; “Our Party is 100 per cent united ahead of 2019 elections. Our performance in the last local government election has shown that our party is united and one.”
In a related development, the APC’s local government congress in Kaduna State witnessed the returned through affirmation all the 23 local governments’ executives
Chairman of the APC national committee monitoring team to Kaduna state, Comrade Saleh Moddibbo, said the congresses went on smoothly in all the local government areas in the state.
Meanwhile, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it will approach the court to challenged the results of the Councils polls following its accusations that Governor el-Rufai-led government interfered with the electoral process.
Some observers stated that though voting during the local government election was considered free and fair in many of the local government areas, some electoral officials reported abandoned their locations and disappeared from the polling stations without announcing the results as demanded by the electoral laws.
