The All Progressives Congress in Kano State has dismissed the results of the local government elections held on Saturday.
The party cited a Federal High Court judgment that nullified the election due to the partisan nature of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission leadership.
The APC’s decision to boycott the election was based on three key factors: the Federal High Court judgment, the perceived bias of KANSIEC towards the New Nigeria Peoples Party, and the invalidity of the election outcome.
Despite the APC’s absence, the elections were generally peaceful, with low voter turnout in metropolitan areas. Voters expressed satisfaction with the calm atmosphere, contrary to initial fears of unrest.
Rabiu Sulaiman Bichi, a chieftain of the APC and former Secretary to the State Government of Kano, said the election was illegal, insisting there was no council election in Kano.
“The Federal High Court judgment delivered by Justice Simon Amobede still stands, rendering the election null and void,” he said.
“Since this judgment hasn’t been appealed, the APC considers any outcome of the purported election to be illegal, null and void,” he said.
“APC considered three key points for its decision, which included the Federal High Court Judgment, which means the election is null and void due to the standing court ruling.
“The second point is the Partisan Electoral Commission; KANSIEC’s leadership is seen as biased towards the NNPP.
“The second issue is that of Invalid Outcome; Any result from the election will be considered illegal.
“A recent Federal High Court judgment that quashed all NNPP chairmanship candidates, further reinforcing their claims of electoral illegitimacy.”
Meanwhile, the New Nigeria Peoples Party secured all 44 local government chairmanship positions and 484 councillorship seats.
However, the APC has urged its members to remain calm and patient, awaiting the outcome of their ongoing legal challenge.
The election’s legitimacy has been marred by controversy, with the APC questioning the impartiality of KANSIEC. The Federal High Court’s judgment has cast a shadow over the election’s validity.
Kano State’s electoral process continues to face challenges, with the APC and NNPP locked in a legal battle over the election’s legitimacy. The outcome of this dispute will have significant implications for the state’s political landscape.
It was however observed that though the election had started on time at Tarauni PHC Polling Centre which houses three polling units, there was generally low turnout of voters.
The situation was different at Gandun Albasa Special Primary School where there were 21 polling units, many voters were seen waiting in queues for their turn to cast their votes.
A cross-section of voters who spoke on the election expressed happiness for the peaceful conduct of residents against what had been anticipated.
“Many people had anticipated crisis during the election but thank God it’s peaceful,” one of the voters said.
Also commenting on the election, another voter said he was happy the election was generally peaceful as many residents complied with the order on restriction of movement.
Also speaking, a presiding Officer, Polling unit 002, at Gandun Albasa, Tajuddeen Uba said voting commenced some minutes after 8:00 am and the election was peaceful as voters turned out and cast their votes in a peaceful and orderly manner despite non- participation of the police and other federal security personnel.
In. some polling units, voting ended as early as 10 am after receiving the election materials.
In places like Tudunwada, Rimin Gado, Gwale, Municipal, and Bichi, among others, elections were conducted peacefully with voters coming out very early to cast their ballots.
