By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Abdulrazaq Adebayo
Published on 2024-01-18 14:35:49
The Kwara State Government is gearing up for its first local government elections since 2019. In 2019, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) sacked the previous council chairmen, who were elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), when the APC took over leadership in the state. This led to a court action by the aggrieved PDP council chairmen who felt they were yet to complete their tenure. The sacked chairmen were replaced with Transition Implementation Committees (TIC) headed by chairmen in the 16 local councils of the state. However, despite the Supreme Court declaring the constitution of transition committees as illegal, no local government elections have been held since then.
Last year, the ruling party in the state constituted a new state Independent Electoral Commission to conduct local government elections. The Chairman of the Commission, Malam Muhammed Baba Okanla, has been making preparations for the elections and has conducted training and retreat for the Commission. Okanla also mentioned collaborating with security agencies for the election and visiting other states to gather information on their local council elections.
The main opposition party in the state, PDP, expressed concerns about the continued encroachment and usurpation of local government administration by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq. They criticized the use of TIC to run local government administration for more than four years uninterrupted and expressed disappointment in the governor’s appeal of cases that have been determined by the Supreme Court.
The preparations for the upcoming local government elections in Kwara State are in full swing. The government has faced criticism from the opposition party for its handling of local government administration and the delay in holding elections. The Chairman of the state Independent Electoral Commission has assured that preparations are underway for the elections, with training and collaborations in place. It remains to be seen how the situation will unfold as the state gears up for the long-awaited local government elections.
