August 15, (THEWILL) – The Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) says it will conduct the forthcoming local government elections in the state devoid of interference from any quarters.
The Chairman of the commission, Prof. Sani Lawan Malumfashi, stated this while presenting the elections’ timetable and guidelines to leaders of the 19 political parties in the state on Thursday.
The commission had scheduled November 30 for the chairmanship and councillorship elections into the 44 local governments in the state.
“The commission will operate Independently in conducting the forthcoming local government elections in the state; nobody is going to interfere with our activities.
“Similarly, nobody should approach us with a bribe. If anybody approaches us with a bribe, we are going to expose them; we did it before, we will do it again”, Malumfashi warned.
He also said that the commission is determined to conduct free and fair local government elections and dispassionately too.
On the nomination form fees for candidates for the election – N10 million for chairmanship and N5 million for councillorship, Malumfashi said the fees were realistic amounts arrived at by the commission.
He explained that while the commission is not a revenue collection agency, it is also not a charity organisation.
He said if sister States such as Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa and Kebbi, would fix their nomination forms fees in that range, he saw no reason why his commission should not fix such amounts.
Malumfashi urged election candidates to conduct their campaigns devoid of foul language, personal attacks on opponents or violence.
Instead, he said they should focus on issues such as unemployment, poverty and insecurity, which are currently bedevilling the society.
He also urged all stakeholders such as politicians, traditional and religious leaders, community leaders, CSOs, security agencies and the media, to cooperate with the commission to enable it to conduct a free, fair and credible election.
Abdullahi Yusuf is a seasoned journalist, communicator and was previously the Deputy Editor-In-Chief and Zonal Manager, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Jos, where he retired on December 15, 2021
