The Kaduna state government Thursday fired back at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) coalition, on their allegation of planned sabotage of Saturday’s bye-elections.
The state government described the allegation as “laughable lies” by “political leftovers” of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
The coalition, led by ADC national vice chairman (North-West), Jafaru Ibrahim Sani, had Thursday accused Governor Uba Sani’s administration of plotting to rig the Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency and state constituency elections in Zaria and Sabon-Gari through mass recruitment of thugs, bribery of electoral officials and vote buying.
In a swift reaction, Kaduna state government, in a press briefing by Commissioner of Information-designate, Ahmed Maiyaki, described the claims as baseless, mischievous, and a desperate attempt to discredit an election the coalition knows it cannot win.
Maiyaki, who was flanked by his counterpart from the Ministry for Local Government, Sadiq Mamman-Lagos, said the ADC/SDP coalition’s “poorly attended rallies” in recent weeks had already exposed their rejection by the electorate, prompting them to “cry wolf where there is none” as a face-saving measure ahead of defeat.
The coalition also alleged that plots of land were being offered to senior INEC officials as inducement, while a “disgraced former senator” known for electoral violence was put in charge of deploying the alleged funds for vote buying and security compromise.
It urged INEC to replace allegedly compromised personnel and called on security agencies to resist being used to subvert the people’s will.
It further demanded the prosecution of the Commissioner for Local Government and others accused of recruiting thugs to disrupt the polls.
“As we speak, the governor is in Chikun LGA flagging off the construction of Romi–Karatudu Township Roads , a community abandoned and demolished under El-Rufai’s eight-year rule,” he said.