PDP withdraws from Kebbi local council elections

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kebbi has pulled out of the August 31 local council elections in the state.

The PDP chairman in the state, Alhaji Bello Usman-Suru, disclosed this to journalists at a press conference on Wednesday in Birnin Kebbi.

He said: “After conducting wider consultations with several segments of the party membership and key figures, it has become necessary to inform that the party will no longer participate in the local council elections scheduled for August 31 for the following reasons:

“The Chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIECOM) and all the commissioners are card-holding members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kebbi State.

“Therefore, the implementation of free, fair and credible elections will be a mirage.

“We voiced our discomfort with their appointment in several communications to the Kebbi State Government and relevant agencies involved in the management of elections in the state.

“Therefore, the PDP does not have confidence in the leadership of the Regional General Election Commission to hold elections freely.”

Usman-Suru also criticized the implementation of administrative fees for the positions of chairman, deputy chairman and council members as mandated in the election guidelines.

This, he said, not only revokes the voting rights of several candidates but also seriously violates the freedom to choose candidates, political parties and voters.

The chairman added: “The election guidelines released stated that administrative fees could be paid up to August 30, but were suddenly pushed back to August 7.

“This is tantamount to changing the rules in the middle of the game and is a clear attempt to prevent opposition parties from participating in the elections.

“It is against this backdrop that the PDP wishes to inform its legions of supporters across the state that our participation in the election will only signify acceptance of an illegal, rigged and rigged election as was done in the previous exercise conducted in 2022 under the same leadership.”

He expressed optimism that the National Assembly would pass a bill for the National Election Commission (KPU) to take over the implementation and management of local council elections in the country.

PDP withdraws from Kebbi local council election first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.