The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Borno State has announced its withdrawal from the December 13 local government elections, citing a lack of confidence in the state’s electoral body and prohibitive nomination form costs.
This was made known in a statement issued on Friday by the party’s state Publicity Secretary, Amos Adziba, following a recent State Executive Committee (SEC) meeting held in Maiduguri.
Adziba said the party reached its decision after evaluating the preparedness of the Borno State Independent Electoral Commission (BOSIEC), which it accused of bias and lacking transparency.
“The BOSIEC did not give the opposition parties substantial reasons to build confidence in the credibility and fairness of the election,” the statement read.
He added, “Since the state government has not amended the bill, it means that it will be business as usual for the APC to ambush other political parties with electoral frauds.”
The PDP also criticised what it described as exorbitant charges for expression of interest and nomination forms, accusing the electoral body of being insensitive to the current economic hardship.
“PDP alleged that the state electoral body is unmindful of the harsh prevailing economic challenges in the country by demanding high purchase of expression of interest and nomination forms,” Adziba noted.
Another key grievance raised by the opposition party was the failure of the APC-led government to amend the electoral bill to allow for transparent collation and announcement of results.
The party demanded that the councillorship election results be declared at ward levels and chairmanship results at local government headquarters, warning that the current structure enables manipulation.
Meanwhile, the ruling All Progressives Congress had earlier declared its readiness to participate in the elections. At a press conference in October, state APC Chairman, Bello Ayuba, confirmed the party’s preparedness.
“We have written to the Borno State Independent Electoral Commission that our party is ready to take part in the forthcoming local government elections,” Ayuba said.