Labour Party has rejected the N2million levy which the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (KAD-SIECOM) imposed on interested Chairmanship candidates in the upcoming elections in Kaduna.
Daily Trust reports that councillorship candidates were mandated to pay N500,000 to be eligible for contesting in the election.
But the opposition party has threatened legal action against the electoral body if it fails to revert to the original amounts of N200,000 for Chairmen and N50,000 for Councilors.
Addressing newsmen at the party’s state office in Kaduna, LP Chairman, Alhaji Awwal Tafoki, stated that the newly introduced fees set by the commission were unacceptable.
Tafoki said it appears to be an attempt to discourage opposition parties from participating in the elections.
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“Labour Party rejects the fees for the forms. We cannot afford N2 million for Chairmen and N500,000 for Councilors. This is unacceptable, and we call on KAD-SIECOM to revert to the previous fees or face legal action,” he said.
He also expressed concerns that the ruling party might be attempting to prevent other parties from participating by suddenly increasing the fees.
Tafoki urged Governor Uba Sani to intervene and call KAD-SIECOM to order to avoid being seen as complicit.
Tafoki expressed a lack of confidence in the commission’s ability to conduct free and fair local government elections, saying they are only given the commission a benefit of doubt.
He further called on the federal government to allow the national electoral body, INEC, to take over the conduct of local government elections nationwide.
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