THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sued the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) for “contempt of court,” ahead of the local government election scheduled for tomorrow.
Also sued is the Aminu Wali faction of the PDP in Kano State. The party demands legal action against the factional group for alleged “impersonation of the authentic PDP and use of PDP logo on the ballots.”
Kano State Chairman of PDP, Shehu Wada Sagagi, on Wednesday said the opposition party filed two law suits before the Kano High Court and Federal High Court in the state.
KANSIEC Chairman, Prof. Garba Ibrahim Sheka had announced that 18 political parties, including PDP, were participating in the council election.
Sheka, said his commission has screened ‘PDP candidates’ standing for the election, adding that he has not received any formal letter from the PDP declaring intention not to participate in the ballots. That the PDP has factions and is rocked by internal crisis is not a worry to the commission whose responsibility is to conduct transparent and credible elections.
Sagagi further explained that the internal crisis within the Kano PDP was resolved by the judgment of a vacation Judge, Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Kano.
The court had ruled that Kwankwasiyya Movement is the authentic PDP, which prompted the party to elect new officials, with Sagagi as the chairman. The Wali faction appealed the judgment and also elected ‘officials,’ during which Muhammina Bako Lamido claimed to have emerged the party’s ‘chairman.’
Sagagi said the PDP had declared publicly that it will boycott the council polls, even as it queried why KANSIEC is violating court verdict, by admitting candidates in the name of PDP.
“The chairman of the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission is behaving like a politician. So, we are calling on the judiciary to save us in this situation.
