The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has expressed its satisfaction with the conduct of the recently concluded local government elections in Kaduna State, saying the development is “a glimmer of hope for constitutional democracy” and a mark of integrity on the part of the electoral and political leaderships.
In a statement by its Director of Administration, Zubairu Haruna Usman-Ugwu, the council said the government of Kaduna State under Governor Nasir El-Rufai had raised the bar in providing an ample example of how elections should be true reflections of the wishes of the electorate.
“Apart from nudging the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission to come up with a fool-proof voting process, which led the commission to adopt the electronic voting system, the governor went ahead to declare that his party did not have to win everywhere and that his government would “allow the people of Kaduna State to elect who they want,” it stated.
At the end of the exercise, the results of 17 Local Government Areas have been announced out of which the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won in 15 councils while the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won in two.
The NSCIA said it reckoned this development as a fresh beginning in the conduct of elections by state electoral commissions, and urged other state governments and state electoral commissions to borrow a leaf from the Kaduna State government and Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission “by toeing the path of honour and ensuring cum institutionalising the sanctity and integrity of the electoral process.”
“The outcome of the council election, as announced by the chairman of the State Electoral Commission, Muhammad Sani, is that the governor lost even his own ward to the opposition party.
“While this appears as a loss to the governor as a politician, the gain of superintending over a credible electoral process is more significant to him as a leader and public servant ultimately than an electoral setback.
“As a matter of fact, it was a big gain to democracy and the governor deserves commendation,” it noted.
The Council then called on Nigerians, “Muslims especially, to always do the right thing and do their things right in order to serve as models in line with the Qur’anic injunction of being the ‘best ummah’ (Q3: 110). This applies not only to politics but also the personal life of individuals.”