NIGER: Trouble looms as Gov Bello swears-in PDP’s Yahaya as council chairman

Trouble seems to be on the horizon in Niger State after People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Safiyanu Yahaya was sworn-in as Chairman of Magama local government area by Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello, despite calls for him to stay-action.

During the swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday at the Government House in Minna, Governor Sani-Bello told all who cared to listen that he was acting based on a High Court ruling that quashed the November 30, 2019, local government Council election in Magama local government on the ground of pre-election offense.

Recall that in March this year, the High Court 5 sitting in Minna, declared Safiyanu Yahaya winner of the election and ordered the State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Salihu Ubandoma of the All Progressives Congress, (APC).

Yahaya who spoke after the swearing-in ceremony described Governor Sani -Bello as a man of justice, saying he had demonstrated his respect for the rule of law by acting in compliance with the directive of the Court.

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According to Yahaya, the governor took the best decision by swearing him in despite the fact that he belonged to another political party.

Engineer Mohammed Jubril Imam, the Niger state APC Chairman, had earlier asked Governor Sani-Bello to resist all pressure to swear-in Yayaha as the new Chairman of Magama local government Council as the party had filed an appeal against the court judgment.

“APC is the ruling party and tension is building up and a lot of rumors are ongoing over the removal of the Magama Council Chairman. We call on the Governor to resist all pressure and go by the rule of law so as not to embarrass the APC government. Anything done contrary to the law will embarrass the APC government. We are calling on the government to let the legal process continued and let the status-quo remain the same,” Imam told reporters earlier.

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