Professor Joseph Gambo, the Commissioner for Public Affairs and Information in Kaduna, said that 79 chairmanship candidates from ten political parties, including the APGA, APC, PDP, NNPP, PRP, LP, YPP, ADC, ZLP, and AA, have been approved to run in the elections.
However, the process has not been free of controversy. The opposition, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has expressed concerns about the electoral integrity and comments made by Governor Uba Sani at the campaign launch in Murtala Square.
The governor, a member of the ruling APC, claimed confidently that his party will win all contested posts, exacerbating tensions between competing political groupings.
In response to these developments, the PDP and other opposition parties claimed that the Kaduna State House of Assembly attempted to modify the electoral legislation, seeing this as an attempt to rig the election process. APC leaders have vehemently disputed the claims.
Meanwhile, in Kogi State, the government has restricted vehicular mobility from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. today to ensure a smooth polling process and improve voter security across its 21 local government areas.
Kingsley Femi Fanwo, the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, highlighted that security agencies have been told to severely enforce this limitation, with consequences for violators.
The government has encouraged locals to fully participate in the elections and assured them of adequate security at polling stations.
Additionally, the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) will hold rerun elections for councillor positions in nine wards across six local government areas today. These replays were caused by anomalies in the local government elections held last Wednesday.
Elections will be held in 112 polling units from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, despite the APC’s demand for its supporters to boycott the election, citing the government’s claimed contempt for democratic values and popular will.
