Katsina APC gears up for dominance as LG polls hold on Feb. 15

From Agaju Madugba, Katsina

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is set to further solidify its grip on power as elections hold on Saturday for the 34 Local Government Area Councils in Katsina State.

Briefing reporters on Tuesday, the Chairman of the Katsina State Independent Electoral Commission (KASIEC), Lawal Alhassan, said that only five political parties will field candidates for the polls.

The main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), is not on the roll, according to the list provided by the KASIEC boss.

The political parties involved are the Accord Party, African Action Congress (AAC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Boot Party, and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The development may further boost the ruling APC’s base, which currently has an all-APC membership in the House of Assembly.

Alhassan said that KASIEC had already deployed about 20,000 ad-hoc staff across the Local Government Areas, with non-sensitive electoral materials already in place in affected locations.

According to him, “On the 14th of February 2024, the Commission declared its intention to conduct elections in the 34 Local Government Areas of the state.

“This was in compliance with the law, which states that a notice of 360 days must be given by the electoral body before conducting elections, in accordance with Section 28 of the Electoral Act 2022, as amended.

“It was from the said date that the Commission began to implement all that was scheduled in the approved election timetable that was made public, in addition to the drafted general guidelines.

“To this end, the Commission has distributed non-sensitive election materials to all the 34 Local Government Areas after recruiting and training over 20,000 ad-hoc staff who will conduct the elections on Saturday, 15th February 2025, while sensitive election materials will be distributed on the eve of the election day.

“The Commission equally wishes to remind all the participating political parties of the need to wind up all campaign activities 24 hours before the election day, in accordance with the provisions of the law.”