The Kaduna State Government and a coalition of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) are locked in a war of words ahead of Saturday’s bye-elections in the state.
On Thursday, the coalition, led by ADC National Vice Chairman (North-West) Jafaru Sani, accused Governor Uba Sani’s administration of plotting to sabotage the polls in Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency and the state constituencies in Zaria and Sabon-Gari.
At a press conference in Kaduna, Jafaru Sani alleged that the plan included mass recruitment of thugs, bribery of electoral officials, and vote buying on a large scale. He claimed that senior Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials were being courted with plots of land and that a former senator had been tasked with mobilising funds for the operation.
The coalition demanded the immediate replacement of what it described as “compromised” INEC personnel and urged security agencies to resist “being weaponised to subvert the will of the people.”
Hours later, the state government hit back. Commissioner for Information-designate Ahmed Maiyaki dismissed the allegations as “baseless, mischievous, and a desperate bid to pre-empt defeat.”
Flanked by Commissioner for Local Government Sadiq Mamman-Lagos, Maiyaki said the poor turnout at the coalition’s recent rallies showed it had already been rejected by voters.
“This is nothing but a face-saving measure by people who already know the outcome of Saturday’s election,” he told reporters. “We will not sit idly by while political opportunists smear the name of our administration and malign innocent officials with wild, unsubstantiated claims.”
He stressed that election conduct was solely INEC’s responsibility and accused the coalition of dragging the government into “its own political misery.”
While the accusations flew, Maiyaki noted that Governor Uba Sani was in Chikun Local Government Area to flag off the construction of the Romi–Karatudu Township Roads. He described the governor’s leadership as one that had united the state and delivered tangible development.
“These political jobbers are unsettled by his popularity, so they manufacture theatre to distract the public,” he said, urging residents to “turn out en masse” on election day and ignore what he called the coalition’s “rantings.”
Mamman-Lagos also dismissed separate allegations that the state had made illegal deductions from local government accounts.
Saturday’s bye-elections are seen as a key test for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition. The ADC/SDP coalition insists the process is at risk without urgent intervention, while the state government calls the claims “a rehearsal for conceding defeat.”
