Gov’ship race: One week after, parties yet to commence campaigns in Kano

A week after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lifted the ban on public campaigns for gubernatorial elections, political parties in Kano State are yet to officially commence their campaigns, Daily Trust reports.

Instead, Daily Trust observed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and one of the leading opposition parties, New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), have been engaged in a war of words through the media.

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The trade of words between the two major parties in the state started when APC accused the NNPP of unruly behaviour and criminal acts.

It alleged that supporters of the opposition party launched coordinated attacks on residents and snatched mobile phones from them during the commissioning of their campaign office.

The APC, through the state commissioner of Information, who doubled as spokesman of the Gawuna/Garo APC Gubernatorial Campaign Council, Muhammad Garba, said instead of the party focusing on the commissioning of their office, they chose to attack people and snatch their phones.

However, while reacting, the NNPP challenged the state government and the APC to give the names of those that were killed during the commissioning of its campaign office.

Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, the spokesman of the NNPP gubernatorial candidate, said the allegation was baseless and meant to cover up the alleged evil plans of the APC towards the election.

The NNPP, while announcing its readiness to commence the 2023 gubernatorial campaign, said it will not tolerate another inconclusive election in the state, hence it will not allow what happened in the 2019 elections to repeat itself.

But in a swift reaction, APC said the unguided activities of the members of the NNPP, who were then under the PDP, led to the inconclusive election in 2019, advising them to shun over-voting, massive rigging and vote stuffing.