Niger gov appoints ex-APC chair to conduct LG polls
The Niger State governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has appointed former state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Engr Mohammed Jibrin Imam, as chairman of the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC). Bago had announced the appointment of Imam alongside other APC stalwarts in the state who had held critical positions at the party level. […]
Umaru Bago
The Niger State governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has appointed former state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Engr Mohammed Jibrin Imam, as chairman of the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC).
Bago had announced the appointment of Imam alongside other APC stalwarts in the state who had held critical positions at the party level.
They are Barr M. A. Liman, former state secretary of the APC, who has been appointed Permanent Commissioner 1; Nasiru Ubandiya, former contestant for the state chairmanship of the APC as Permanent Commissioner 2; Capt. Mohammed Baro, the immediate past council chairman of Agaie LGA on the platform of the APC, as Permanent Commissioner 4, and Barrister Amina Musa Guar, former Focal Person and Special Adviser to immediate past governor on Social Investment Programme (SIP) as Permanent Commissioner 6.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Bago, Bologi Ibrahim, disclosed in a statement that the appointments were subject to confirmation by the State House of Assembly.
Ibrahim quoted the governor as saying the appointees would conduct the local government elections in the state if cleared by the state assembly, adding they were appointed based on their track records.
He said the governor had earlier sent an Executive Correspondence to the State House of Assembly on composition of the state electoral commission.
But opposition parties and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have condemned the appointments, saying the state electoral body had been turned into a family affair of the APC.
Condemning the act, a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Yahaya Idris (aka Yahaya Designer), told Daily Trust that, “With the exception of Yahaya Idirs Abara, all others are prominent APC stalwarts. In other words, NSEIC is an appendage of APC.”
Also speaking, Yahaya Ability, State Vice Chairman and Zonal Chairman Niger North (Zone C) of Niger State PDP asked the governor to reverse the appointment to allow a level-playing ground in the coming local government elections.
‘The PDP Niger State chapter disagrees with the insensitive appointment of the chairman of the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission and other seven permanent commissioners who are all APC stakeholders. The newly appointed chairman of the commission is a former APC state chairman.
“Therefore, this appointment cannot be accepted because if he is allowed to head this honourable commission, other parties will be marginalised and oppressed in the forthcoming elections,” he said.
Also reacting, Muhammad Alfa Muhammad, Speaker of the Accountability Ambassadors, a Civil Society Organisation, said appointing APC members to head the State Independent Electoral Commission was an attempt to subvert the well-celebrated local government autonomy through imposition.
“These appointments are contrary to the principles of fairness and rule of law. Some of these appointed officials have even been indicted and arraigned for financial misappropriation while serving as APC officials. Bago should reverse these appointments to allow neutral ground,” he said.