The Peoples Redemption Party in Bauchi has rejected the results of the Saturday Local Government elections, describing the process as an “electoral heist.”
The party alleges that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, in collaboration with the Bauchi State Independent Electoral Commission and the state chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, manipulated the poll.
The PRP claims that the elections were a sham, with elective positions being shared among party loyalists rather than being decided by the people through their votes, according to Ripples Nigeria.
The party specifically accuses the IPAC leadership of complicity in the alleged electoral malpractice, claiming that key officials were rewarded with councillorship seats for their roles in the process.
The PRP has vowed to take further action to address the situation and has urged civil society organizations and progressive-minded individuals to condemn the alleged manipulation of the election.
The party’s statement emphasizes the need for transparency and accountability in democratic practices.
The statement read: “The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) Bauchi State Chapter strongly rejects and condemns the electoral heist that masqueraded as local government elections held across the state on Saturday.
“This reprehensible exercise was a prearranged banditry orchestrated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its state government, the Bauchi State Independent Electoral Commission (BASIEC), in connivance with the state chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC).
“The PRP Bauchi State Chapter is outraged by the brazen manipulation of the electoral process, which has reduced our democratic system to an anachronistic and authoritarian practice. Elective positions, which should be decided by the people through their votes, were instead shared among the undemocratic syndicate.
“We are appalled that IPAC, a body that should be promoting ideal democratic practices, instead chose to serve the personal and self-centred interests of some unscrupulous individuals.
“To clarify the situation, the State Chairman of IPAC, who is also the state chairman of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), his deputy, who is also the State Chairman of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), and their closest sidekick from the African Action Congress (AAC), were each rewarded with a councillorship seat for their roles in orchestrating, endorsing, authorising, and executing the electoral banditry.
“The PDP was declared the winner of all the chairmanship seats and other councillorship seats, while the people of Bauchi State were disenfranchised and denied their right to vote for their choices. This is a grave injustice and a mockery of democracy.
“The people of Bauchi State have been robbed of their rights and dignity, and history will record this incident as a dark stain on our state’s democracy.”