The Inter Party Advisory Council, IPAC, in Kebbi State has issued a 35-day ultimatum to the Kebbi State Independent Electoral Commission, KBSIEC, to conduct elections in the 21 local government councils of the state.
The ultimatum, which commenced on May 2, ends on June 5, 2024.
IPAC Chairman, Ibrahim Muhammed, made this demand during an advocacy visit to the commission’s head office in Birnin Kebbi metropolis.
Recall that the council had earlier rejected the recent appointment of sole administrators in the 21 local government areas by the state government, declaring its opposition during an advocacy visit to the state House of Assembly.
In response, the Kebbi State Speaker, Muhammadu Usman Zuru, defended the state government’s action, citing legal provisions allowing governors to appoint sole administrators when the state electoral body is unprepared for elections.
However, Muhammed reiterated IPAC’s objection to the appointment of sole administrators, stating that the government should conduct elections to fill the vacant council seats following the expiration of their two-year tenures.
He criticized the move as injurious to democracy and a denial of the opposition parties’ rights to participate in the governance process at the council level.
Muhammed also criticized the government’s failure to fund the commission to conduct local council polls, as required by law, and deemed the law allowing governors to appoint local government sole administrators as anti-people and morally improper.
The Chairman of KBSIEC, Aliyu Mohammed Mera, represented by a commissioner, Ahmed Amadu Nasani, assured that the commission would make every effort to comply with the ultimatum.
