Former APC Chairman Appointed As Chairman Of State Independent Electoral Commission

Former APC Chairman Appointed As Chairman Of Independent Electoral Commission

The Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has appointed Engr Mohammed Jibrin Imam, the former state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the chairman of the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC).

Bago made the announcement alongside the appointments of other APC leaders in the state who had held key party positions.

They are Barr M. A. Liman, former state secretary of the APC, who has been appointed  Permanent Commissioner 1;  Nasiru Ubandiya, former contestant for the state chairmanship of the APC as Permanent Commissioner 2; Capt. Mohammed Baro, the immediate past council chairman of Agaie LGA on the platform of the APC,  as Permanent Commissioner 4, and Barrister Amina Musa Guar, former Focal Person and Special Adviser to immediate past governor on Social Investment Programme (SIP) as Permanent Commissioner 6.

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Bologi Ibrahim, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Bago, stated in a press release that the appointments are subject to confirmation by the State House of Assembly.

The governor was quoted as saying that the appointees would oversee the local government elections in the state, pending clearance from the Assembly, and that their appointments were based on their proven track records.

However, opposition parties and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have criticized the appointments, accusing the state electoral body of becoming an extension of the APC.

Alhaji Yahaya Idris (also known as Yahaya Designer), a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), remarked that with the exception of Yahaya Idirs Abara, all the appointees are prominent APC figures, implying that the NSIEC is now controlled by the APC.

Yahaya Ability, State Vice Chairman and Zonal Chairman of Niger North (Zone C) for the PDP, urged the governor to reverse the appointments to ensure fairness in the upcoming local government elections.

He expressed concern that the appointments would lead to the marginalization of other parties in the elections.

Muhammad Alfa Muhammad, Speaker of the Accountability Ambassadors, a Civil Society Organization, also condemned the appointments, calling them an attempt to undermine local government autonomy and impose APC influence.

He argued that the appointments go against the principles of fairness and the rule of law, citing past allegations of financial mismanagement by some of the appointees while serving in APC roles.

He called on Governor Bago to reverse the appointments to ensure a neutral electoral process.

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