The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has secured all the chairmanship and councillorship positions in the just concluded local government elections across the 44 local government areas of Kano State. It would be recalled that the election was finally conducted after a series of litigations that sought to stop it from holding.
In an announcement made by the chairman of the Kano Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), Sani Malumfashi, at the commission’s headquarters, NNPP was declared the winner in every local government contested. Reports indicated that six political parties participated in the election, which was conducted peacefully throughout the state.
While addressing the press, Malumfashi commended the peaceful conduct of the election, attesting that there were no reports of violence or electoral malpractices
“We are pleased to announce that the NNPP has won all the chairmanship and councillorship seats across the 44 local government areas. The election was conducted in a transparent and orderly manner, and we did not receive any reports of violence,” he said.
In the meantime, observers have praised the smooth planning and security measures that made sure the elections went off without a hitch, hailing the election as a major victory for the state.
Following a number of lawsuits attempting to prevent the election from taking place, it was finally held.
An earlier report on Friday was that the Kano State High Court granted the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) the authority to proceed with the local government elections, nullifying all attempts by political parties to stop the exercise.
The case’s judge, Justice Sanusi Ma’aji, decided that KANSIEC had the constitutional authority to hold, monitor, and control local elections in each of Kano State’s forty-four local government areas (LGAs).
KANSIEC filed the lawsuit against 13 other political parties as well as the All Progressives Congress (APC).
It was also reported that local vigilante groups and officials of Kano Road Transport Agency, Karota, provided security at the polling units, as the Kano State Police Command said it would comply with a court order, restricting it from taking part in the election.
Eyewitness confirmed that local security officials were, however, seen clutching sticks and locally forged swords while standing behind the residents as they got set to cast their votes.