By Saidu Adamu
Jalingo
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State has accused the Taraba State Independent Election Commission (TASIEC) of attempting to frustrate it and other political parties from participating in the coming local government election fixed for November 8, 2025.
The APC which made the allegation on Tuesday during a press conference in Jalingo accused the state government of using TASIEC and state Board of Internal Revenue Service to introduce measures that are capable of frustrating out other political parties out of the contest .
The State Chairman of APC, Ibrahim El-Sudi who made the allegation said that TASIEC has imposed compulsory and non refundable fees of N150,000 to N1,000,000 on candidates seeking to contest chairmanship and councilorship positions.
He said the imposition of the fees was contrary to the position of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act.
According to El-Sudi, the SBIR has also fixed the sum of N500,000 and N1,000,000 as tax clearance for those aspiring for the position of Councilors and Chairmen respectively.
He noted that these measures by agencies of the State Government are undoubtedly calculated efforts to frustrate other political parties from participating in the election considering the present economic realities.
El-Sudi insisted that the measures not only contravene the constitution and position of the Supreme Court on the issue, but also shows clearly that the State Government and the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are afraid of going in for a fair contest.
He said credible sources indicate that candidates of the PDP for the same elections are exempted from paying for any of the levies both at SIEC and SBIR while other political parties are made to face the discriminatory levies.
The Chairman call on the SIEC and SBIR to revert the obnoxious policies and provide a level playing ground for all contestants.
He also called on the state Governor Agbu Kefas to urgently direct the heads of the agencies to revert the policies so as to exonerate himself from complicity in the allegations.
Meanwhile, Hon. Emmanuel Bello, Special Adviser to the state governor on Media and Digital Communications has described the allegations of the governors’ involvement in plans to frustrate other political parties from participating in the election as baseless and contradictory of the governors’ known policy on election.
Bello said that the Governor is a core pro-democracy figure who believes in the sanctity of election and will not stoop so low to interfere with the process of the election.
He, however, cautioned that the SIEC and SBIR have clear guidelines that guide their operations and should be allowed to operate without undue interference. (vitalnewsngr.com)
