BSIEC fixes May 7 for local council election
By Prosper Okoye. –
Benue State Local Government elections has been fixed for Saturday, 7th of May 2022.
This followed the release of guidelines and timetable for the conduct of the elections by the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission, BSIEC at the George Akume Conference Hall, Local Government Service Commision, Monday the January 31, 2022 .
In an address during the Election Notice/Stakeholders Forum, Governor Samuel Ortom expressed the readiness of his administration to go on with the Local Government Council Elections.
He said, “History is about to be made in Benue state as my government will be the first to conduct two LGA council elections within a four years span, despite the lean financial situation of the country and Benue state in particular, ocasioned by the devastating effect of the Corona Virus and banditry activities.”
The Governor who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr Tivlumun Nyitse also noted that the forthcoming LGA council elections will Mark the first transition from a democratic elected Local Government Council Members to another at the local level in the State.
According to him, the present administration has attached great importance to Local Government elections as a means of ventilating the Democratic aspirations of the people in the 3rd tier of government.
Governor Ortom promised to provide the Benue State Independent Electoral Commision all the necessary support needed to fufil its mandate as an umpire.
The Governor while highlighting the achievements of his administration decried what he described as unfair criticisms by the opposition party and advised politicians to follow the rules of the election by avoiding every act that will threaten the peace of the state.
Earlier,the BSIEC Chairman,Tersoo Loko while addressing stakeholders said, the meeting was ” the collective responsibility of all critical stakeholders to proactively discuss meaningfully and contribute positively to the much desired process of conducting peaceful Local Government Council Elections in Benue State”.
He added, “Benue state security council has designed and guaranteed a formidable security strategy for the smooth conduct of the forthcoming local Government Council Elections in the state”.
“it must be emphasized that it is our collective responsibility to promote the effectiveness of the security strategy”.
“The media should report judiciously and objectively on both sides of the coin. Educationist should advise the youths to avoid being misled and used for political banditry, thuggery and unjustified attacks on my Adhoc staff and electoral materials”, he appealed.
According to the time table, Tuesday, 1st of February,2022 Will be the commencement of campaigns by political parties for the Election While collection of forms BCF 002 by political parties will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 2 and Tuesday Feb.8 2022.
In their separate remarks, representative of All Progressives Congress (APC) expressed worry over the conduct of previous election and appealed for improvement.
The APC Publicity Secretary, Dan Morgan, alleged that election results were announced even before voting ended.
While the Chairman IPAC, Dan Okibe, said lack of inclusion of opposition parties have always being the name for free and fair elections organized by the Benue state Independent Electoral Commission.
“The PDP has always been supported secretly to win all the local Government Chairman council seats.” He said.
However in his submission, the Benue State Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) John Ngbede, said the PDP had always followed the proper procedure to win the local government seats.
“Most of your candidates are not popular, and your party lacks grassroots support. But the PDP has a strong grass roots popularity that ensures its victories in the poll”, he explained.
Among political parties that attended the meeting were the All Progressives Congress (APC), All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Green Party of Nigeria (GPN), Labour Party (LP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and New Nigeria People’s Party ( NNPP).
