INEC ready for 2 Niger Senatorial seats by-election

From MUHAMMAD S.D. WANDO, Minna

The Independent National Electoral Commission in Niger state has said that all necessary arrangements regarding the conduct of elections shifted to next Saturday have been concluded.
It could be recalled that elections for the Niger South and East Senatorial seats were not held last Saturday as scheduled, as a result of the missing of names of candidates and party names and logos on the ballot papers.
Similarly, the election into the House Representatives for Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency in the state was not held last Saturday and is now also billed for next Saturday.
Addressing a joint meeting of stake holders on the election, Niger state Resident Electoral commissioner, Alhaji Hassan Sulaiman stated that the commission was determined to ensure the successful conduct of the election.
It could be recalled that in the last Saturdays election only Senator Nuhu Aliyu of the PDP was returned elected for the Niger North Senatorial District, just as the Niger South Senatorial District and that of the Niger East were postponed.
Meanwhile, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Action Congress in the state have alerted the Independent National Electoral Commission and the security agencies on the alleged plans by the ruling PDP to rig the next Saturday’s elections.
The gubernatorial candidate of the ANPP in the state, Barrister David Umaru and the state chairman of the Action Congress, Alh Shuaibu Sulaiman, told journalists in Minna that, their parties have discovered plans by the ruling PDP to use all means to rig the election to its favour.
They further alleged that some PDP officials and their senatorial candidates are planning to use all means to subvert the next round of the senatorial election coming up on Saturday.
The two parties then called on the INEC and security operatives as well as the public to be vigilant on the matter.