Taraba LG Polls: 17 political parties to justle for the chairmanship across 16 LGs

No fewer than seventeen political parties were said to have signified their intentions to participate in the forthcoming local government election in Taraba State.

The election which has been scheduled for the 30th of this month, is said to be geared towards bringing on board elected chairmen instead of the incessant renewal of the Caretakers tenures who have for the past three years being piloting the Affairs of the local councils.

Speaking via a telephone interview with our state correspondent in Jalingo, the state Chairman of Independence Electoral Commission (SIEC), Chief Philip Duwe, said the decision of the commission to conduct the election this month was aimed at reaching out to the nooks and crannies of the state before the commencement of rains.

According to him, it may eventually debarred the commission from accessing some parts of the state as a result of the defecult terrains.

As at the time of filing in this report, seventeen political parties, as made known by him, have made up their minds to jostle for the chairmanship positions across the sixteen local government councils.

Citing the ongoing plans of the Independednt National Electorate Commission (INEC) to conduct elections in the states of Edo and (ndo, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Duwe said SIEC would as well adhered strictly to all the precautionary measures during the exercise.

Unlike the previous elections where voters are allowed to crowd the polling units, the reverse, as stated by him, would be the case during the council election as electorates would not be exceeding twenty in each polling units, adding that they are going to make sure that everything would be in order to avoid toying with the health of the people.

The Commission, he said have being robbing minds with the leadership of the Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC) and the leadership of other political parties that are not members of the aforementioned council.

This according to him, is aimed at creating level playing ground to all the political parties which he believed would in turns leads to credible and transparent polls across the state.

While reiterating the determinations of the Commission to be “neutral ” Philip Duwe enjoined the people of the state irrespective of political parties to have confidence on the Commission, as the Commission as made known by him, would tread all legitimate paths to deliver.