Kaduna Govt dismisses ADC/SDP sabotage claims, accuses coalition of political desperation
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The Kaduna State Government has rejected allegations by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) of plans to sabotage Saturday’s bye-elections, describing the claims as “laughable lies” and a distraction by “political leftovers” of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
The ADC/SDP coalition, led by the ADC National Vice Chairman (North-West), Mr Jafaru Sani, had on Thursday accused the state government of recruiting thugs, inducing electoral officials, and planning large-scale vote buying.
This, it alleged, is to influence the outcome of the bye-elections in Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency and the State Constituencies in Zaria and Sabon-Gari LGAs.
According to the statement, the coalition uncovered what it described as a coordinated scheme involving the recruitment of over 4,000 thugs to intimidate opposition supporters at polling units and collation centres.
But responding at a press briefing in Kaduna, the Commissioner-designate for Information, Mr Ahmed Maiyaki, said the accusations were “baseless, mischievous and a desperate attempt to discredit an election the coalition knows it cannot win.”
Maiyaki, who addressed journalists alongside the Commissioner for Local Government, Mr Sadiq Mamman-Lagos, said the poor turnout at the coalition’s recent rallies showed their lack of support, adding that their press statement was a “face-saving effort ahead of their impending defeat.”
He dismissed the claim that plots of land were being offered to INEC officials as inducement, as well as the allegation that a “disgraced former senator” was coordinating the deployment of funds for electoral manipulation.
According to him, the conduct of elections is the sole responsibility of INEC and not the state government.
“We will not sit idly by while political opportunists smear the name of our administration and malign innocent officials with wild, unsubstantiated claims,” Maiyaki said.
He added that the state’s legal team had been instructed to review the coalition’s allegations for potential legal recourse.
Making reference to the past, Maiyaki alleged that former Governor El-Rufai once ordered thugs to attack the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat in Kaduna, stating that such acts of political violence were alien to the leadership style of Governor Uba Sani.
He stated that the Governor was currently in Chikun Local Government Area to inaugurate the construction of Romi Karatudu township roads, “a community that was abandoned and demolished during El-Rufai’s eight years in office.”
Maiyaki maintained that Sani’s administration had promoted unity and inclusive governance, which, according to him, had unsettled opposition figures.
“Democracy in Kaduna is alive and thriving and no amount of theatre from El-Rufai’s political leftovers in ADC will change that,” he said.
Also speaking, Mamman-Lagos denied the coalition’s claim that local governments were forced to contribute funds for election interference.
He described El-Rufai as “a frustrated politician who is sinking and wants to drag others along.”
The state government urged voters to disregard the allegations and turn out en masse on Saturday to exercise their civic rights peacefully.
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