Governor Nasir el-Rufai has hailed the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s performance in the last local government polls, noting that the results of the elections have showed APC’s quest for free and fair elections.
The Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (Kadsiecom) conducted the polls using Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), after which APC was declared winner in 16 out of 19 local governments, including four councils in Southern Kaduna; Jema’a and Kauru local governments, while retaining Sanga and Kagarko local governments which it won in 2018.
Speaking in a state broadcast in the aftermath of the polls on Tuesday night, el-Rufai thanked the people of Kaduna state for giving APC victory at the polls, while welcoming the election as a unifying moment.
He described the results from Kaduna South Senatorial District as a significant step in advancing political consensus in the state and overcoming division.
“Our administration has placed the credibility and integrity of the electoral process above the discredited practice of previous governments that sought to win every contested seat by all means. The people of Kaduna state have shown, for the second time, that there is no obstacle to the successful adoption of electronic voting technology in Nigeria.
“Voters in Kaduna state first made history on 12th May 2018 when they cast their ballots on electronic voting machines to elect chairmen and councillors for the 23 local government councils in our state. That election has placed Kaduna state as the first in Nigeria to use electronic voting, the first subnational in Africa to do so and has also positioned Nigeria as only the second country in Africa after Namibia to use the technology.
“The local government elections of 4th September 2021 further validate the Kaduna state government’s decision to invest in Electronic Voting Machines to promote electoral integrity and transparency. Kaduna state is proudly upholding a new chapter in elections in Nigeria, using electronic voting technology, championed by a government that is determined to respect the outcome, win or lose,’’ he said.
He congratulated all the winners in the local government elections and challenged them to use their period in office to serve the people, uphold democratic tenets and promote peace in the state.
“Our people again demonstrated with their votes that they recognise our efforts to empower them, to educate their children properly, to secure better healthcare for them and to return their priorities to the heart of government. We are grateful to the people of the Kaduna South Senatorial District. The voters have given the APC victory in four of the seven local government where elections were conducted in Southern Kaduna.
“The unprecedented victory in Jema’a augurs well for advancing unity and commitment to common endeavours in the interest of unity, peace and progress in our state. It is an embrace that we do not take for granted. We accept it as a moment for opening new vistas, extending bridges and saying farewell to needless divisions,’’ he said.
