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By Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
Ahead of the local government elections in Taraba State scheduled for November this year, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state has raised the alarm over measures put in place by the state government through the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) and the State Board of Internal Revenue (SBIR) to frustrate other political parties from participating in the election.
The state Chairman of APC, Ibrahim El-Sudi, who raised the alarm at a press briefing in Jalingo, said the SIEC has imposed compulsory fees for candidates aspiring for various positions varying from N150,000 to N1,000,000, contrary to the position of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act.
El-Sudi further disclosed that the SBIR has also fixed the sum of N500,000 and N1,000,000 as tax clearance for those aspiring for the position of councillors and chairmen respectively.
He noted that these measures by agencies of the state government are undoubtedly calculated efforts to frustrate other political parties from participating in the election, considering the present economic realities.
El-Sudi insisted that the measures not only contravene the constitution and position of the Supreme Court, but also shows clearly that the state government and ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are afraid of going in for a fair contest.
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He said credible sources indicate that candidates of the PDP for the elections are exempted from paying for any of the levies both at SIEC and SBIR while other political parties are made to face the discriminatory levies.
The chairman called on the SIEC and SBIR to revert the obnoxious policies and provide a level playing field for all those who want to participate in the election. He also called on the state Governor, Agbu Kefas to urgently direct the heads of the agencies to revert the policies so as to exonerate himself from complicity in the allegations.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Bello, SA to the state governor on Media and Digital Communications has described the allegations of the governor’s involvement in plans to frustrate other political parties from participating in the election as baseless and contradictory of the governor’s known policy on election.
Bello said the governor is a core pro democracy figure, who believes in the sanctity of election and will not stoop so low as to interfere with the process of the election.
He, however, cautioned that agencies of government such as the SIEC and SBIR have clear guidelines that guide their operations and should be allowed to operate without undue interference.
