Group Calls On Kwara Govt To Conduct Local Council Polls

A leading Pro-Democracy group in Kwara State, Kwara Must Change has urged the Kwara State government to conduct the local government election as soon as possible, instead of engaging in a prolonged legal battle against the judgement of a case delivered against it today by a high court judge, Honourable Justice H.A Gegele.

The group noted that conducting the local government election as soon as possible is the right thing to do, irrespective of the court judgement or other considerations, including the ongoing appeal court case on Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC).

In a statement by Convener of Kwara Must Change, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, the group stated that, while the government has the right to appeal the judgement, Kwara Must Change is of the view that, setting motion in place to conduct the election will do both government and people of Kwara much good.

According to Hamzat, “before the current judgement, in a case instituted by Elite Network for Sustainable Development, the justification for not holding the election is that government could not proceed with the election because it could not constitute kwasiec due to ongoing court case.

“However, with this latest judgement, the argument of KWASIEC has been laid to rest, because we now have a court judgement, which if properly interpreted, means that government have a duty to not only constitute another KWASIEC board as a matter of necessity but to also conduct the election as soon as possible”. Hamzat said.

Kwara Must Change therefore maintained that, instead of engaging in long legal battles, the government should see this as an opportunity to legally constitute kwasiec and conduct the election.