Reactions have trailed Governor Umaru Bago of Niger’s appointment of a former state chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Jibrin Imam, as chairman of the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that the governor, in a statement by his chief press secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, had also appointed a former APC state secretary, M.A. Liman; former Commissioner Amina Guar; and other chieftains of the ruling party as permanent commissioners of the commission.
The only non-partisan member of the commission is Yahaya Idris Abara who until his new appointment was a staff of the NSIEC.
Consequently, some residents of the state expressed displeasure over the appointment of card-carrying members of the ruling party to lead the commission.
They noted that such appointments would compromise the integrity of the election that would be conducted by the partisan members.
Also, a prominent activist in the state, Yahaya Mohammed-Usman, in a post on his Facebook page, urged the governor to quickly review the list to avoid any litigation in future.
Mr Usman said: “Everyone in this list is a card-carrying member of a party. One would have thought that at least NSIEC would be a neutral arbiter manned by non-Partisan Persons.
“I am very sure if this is challenged in a law court, this list will not pass legal, non-partisanship scrutiny.
“My suggestion is that a thorough review be made to avoid an impending future foreseeable logjam.
“If anything happens, LGA allocations will be affected and will jeopardise your projects. A stitch in time…”
Also, a member of the opposition People Democratic Party, PDP, Malami Abdullahi, said the governor has always been rigid in his appointments and failed to reverse any of his appointments over public outcry.
He cited instances where the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, had kicked against some appointments made by the governor in the past for violating the civil service rules.
Mr Abdullahi, however, said despite the pressures from the NLC, Mr Bago refused to bow.
“I have observed that if Gov. Bago takes any decisions or makes appointments, no matter the opposition, he won’t reverse it.
“I recalled how the NLC issued threats after the governor made some appointments that violated the civil service rules.
“They were shouting and blabbing. But immediately he gave them trailers of rice as palliatives to cushion the effect of the economic hardships; we haven’t heard anything from them.
“I believe he would use the same strategy to silence opposition parties on this latest appointment”, Mr Abdullahi said.
Another activist from the state, Comr. Abusponsor, while faulting the decision said: ”Nigerian law explicitly prohibits members of political parties from serving in electoral commissions to ensure neutrality in the electoral process.
“By appointing known APC members, this decision raises serious questions about the integrity of future elections in Niger State.
“If there were a strong opposition party in the state, they would have vehemently rejected this move, as it undermines democracy and creates an unfair advantage for the ruling party.
“I urge you to reconsider these appointments in the interest of justice, fairness, and the democratic process.
“The people of Niger State deserve an electoral commission that is free from political bias and committed to conducting transparent and credible elections.”
