The candidates of the various political parties in Kaduna State have asked Governor Uba Sani to compel the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission, KADSIECOM to reopen the payment portal for the upcoming council elections in the state.
This followed the reported closure of the portal ahead of the polls.
KADSIECOM had fixed N2 million as a fee for nomination forms for the local government chairmanship and N500,000 for councillorship nomination forms in the election scheduled for October 19.
Bulus Bitrus, the chairmanship candidate of the Labour Party spoke at the commission’s headquarters to express their frustration over the exorbitant fees and “confusing guidelines.”
Speaking on behalf of other candidates, bitrus said the majority of them are not wealthy politicians but are ordinary people trying to serve their communities.
According to him, “These fees are not only a barrier to our participation but the sudden closure of the payment portal also contradicts section 5.11 of the KAD SIECOM 2024 election guidelines.”
They demanded that the payment portal be reopened to allow candidates to balance their fees, clarify payment procedures to prevent confusion and ensure community members are not disenfranchised.
They urged Governor Sani to use his good offices to address the concerns of his citizens.
