The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, a coalition of political parties in Nigeria, has rejected the planned sale of nomination forms by the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission for the upcoming local government elections scheduled for October 19, 2024.
The CNPP’s rejection comes after KOSIEC announced plans to sell nomination forms to political parties and screen potential candidates, a move that the CNPP chairman in Kogi State, Mohammed Kabir Abdullahi, has condemned as “laughable, fraudulent, and the biggest joke of the century” since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
Abdullahi alleges that over 50% of KOSIEC members are card-carrying members of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Kogi State, and that the aim of the electoral body is to disqualify opposition party members. He questions the legitimacy of an electoral body dominated by the ruling party selling nomination forms and screening candidates, stating, “How can a body set up by the ruling party with the majority as card-carrying members of APC want to sell nomination forms? This is fraudulent and laughable in a modern society. Do they think we are fools? This is a joke taken too far.”
Abdullahi also references the recent Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to local governments, which he believes has led to the state government’s sudden decision to conduct council polls after initially claiming they lacked the funds to do so. He warns that KOSIEC’s actions may lead to other political parties withdrawing from the elections and calls on the National Assembly to pass a law enabling the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct local government elections instead of state government appointees like KOSIEC.