A mild drama ensued in Government House Minna, venue for the swearing-in of the 25 Local Government Council chairmen on Thursday as two people laying claim to the council chairmanship seat presented themselves to be sworn-in for Mariga local government council.
The near free for all situation which presented itself at Government House, said to be part of the reasons why Governor Abubarkar Sani Bello had delayed the swearing-in is said to have been thrown up in the aftermath of the local government council election.
While Mariga people have shown their support for one of the candidates whom they voted for, the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Niger state is said to have differed with the people as the party is said to be supporting the candidate who lost out during the polls.
Our correspondent gathered that the case which is already in court presents Abdulmalik S Daji as being the winner and is said to have been issued with the Certificate of Return by the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) but Idris Ibrahim K is said to be the favoured candidate of the party and was secretly invited to be sworn-in as Chairman for Mariga local government area.
Miffed by the development, Abdulmalik is said to have mobilized his supporters and headed for Government House for a show-down but was subsequently ‘ordered out’ as the swearing-in was about starting.
Meanwhile, Governor Bello had declared that his refusal to swear-in chairman for Mariga is not an indication that the state government is backing a particular candidate but to respect the rule of law in order to give room for amicable resolution of the crisis.
Bello speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Jibrin Ndace told journalists at a briefing shortly after the swearing-in said, “We are not surprised incidents like this happens but the governor respects the rule of law and that is why he did not swear-in anybody as chairman for Mariga Local Government Area”.
He also apologized to journalists who were either locked out, molested by security agents during the swearing-in or had their cars vandalized in the process, saying whatever happened was not deliberate but part of security measures to keep street urchins who thronged government house for the swearing-in at a distance.
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