KATSINA – A Katsina-based NGO, The Community Information Project (CIP), has criticised Saturday’s local government elections in Katsina State, saying it is ‘’a waste of resources’’.
The Project Coordinator of the group, Mr Jacob Aaron, made the statement in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Katsina.
He said there was no election in the state as the exercise was contested by only one party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
‘’How can you conduct an election in which only one party is contesting; as far as we are concerned, election did not take place in Katsina State because we did not see it,’’ Aaron said.
Aaron, who is also the North-West Zonal Coordinator of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), said the five political parties that contested alongside the PDP did not actually show up during the poll. [eap_ad_1] He also said the election was a mere appointment, adding that there was no difference between it and local government caretaker committees.
‘’It is unfortunate that this kind of thing is happening at the grassroots where our democracy should be allowed to grow up to the national level.
‘’In as much as we do not get local government election right, we cannot get the presidential election right,’’ he said.
NAN reports that six parties, the PDP, APGA, PPA, ACPN, SDP and MEGA Party took part in the election, but only the PDP deployed its agents at the polling centres.
The five other parties did not send their agents to most of the polling units visited by NAN correspondents.(NAN)
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