Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has said there is neither a winner nor loser in last Saturday’s local government election in the state.
The governor’s comment came barely 24 hours after the Bauchi State Independent Electoral Commission (BASIEC) announced the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the chairmanship positions across the 20 local governments of the state.
Opposition parties which participated in the election raised concerns about the credibility of the result of the election, alleging irregularities during the exercise.
Speaking during the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected chairpersons at the government House in Bauchi yesterday, Governor Mohammed said PDP’s victory reflected the satisfaction of citizens with the performance of state government over the last five years.
He said for the second time in his administration, local government elections were held to give people at the grassroots a chance to participate in democratic processes and have a say in administration and application of their funds.
The governor said local government autonomy raised the performance bar for chairpersons to meet the standards set by the electorate in delivering fruits of democracy.
He assured that the Bauchi government would continue to collaborate with local government councils to foster rapid development across the state.
Mohammed warned the sworn-in persons to sustain peace in their domains and work closely with security agencies and traditional rulers.
LEADERSHIP reports that about 17 political parties participated in the election on Saturday. It is the second time in about five years that local government polls were conducted in the state.
However, this round of council election came after the Supreme Court judgement granted full autonomy to local governments in the country.
Declaring the poll result, BASIEC Chairman, Ahmed Makama said the PDP won all chairmanship seats in the election.
The chairman added that the contest was free, fair, credible and devoid of any irregularities.
He said that Hassan Bajam won in Alkaleri; Mahmood Baba Ma’aji, Bauchi; Lawi Sum, Bogoro; Yakubu Tela, Dambam; Sama’ila Sade, Darazo; Muhammad Jibo, Dass; Madaki Gololo, Gamawa; Mohammed Miya, Ganjuwa; Usman Saleh, Giade.
Others are Hajara Gidado, Itas-Gadau; Inuwa Abdullahi, Jama’are; Yusuf Zaki, Katagum; Abdulkadir Dewu, Kirfi; Salisu Hussain, Misau; Nasiru Zakarai, Ningi; Abdullahi Beli, Shira; Sama’ila Lere, Tafawa Balewa; Ibrahim Dembo, Toro; Aminu Barmini, Warji and Adamu Yakubu, Zaki.
PDP is the ruling party in the state. The outcome of the election follows a pattern of the party in control of the state recording total dominance in such subnational elections.
Barely days after the apex court judgement on local government autonomy, a debate began over whether or not a new electoral body, other than those already established by states, should conduct council elections.
There was also a demand for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to oversee council polls to ensure nonpartisanship.
Meanwhile, a few days before the Bauchi council elections, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) had alleged that the high cost of nomination forms released by BASIEC was planned to disenfranchise the opposition parties in the polls.
LEADERSHIP reported that BASIEC pegged the cost of nomination and expression of interest forms for the elections at about N120,000 to and N250,000.
Chairman of ZLP in Bauchi, Khalid Arewa, in a statement, said ZLP strongly objected to the high cost of the forms which came after a premature announcement of the elections.
