Local government elections in Kwara State have been slated for October 26 .Chairman of the state independent electoral commission, Dr. Uthman Abdulrahman Ajidagba, in this interview explains how the electoral body intends to conduct a credible election as well as the Offa LG rerun. Excerpts:

What is the level of preparations ahead of the scheduled October local government elections in Kwara State?
We are adequately prepared. One thing that may interest you is that the crop of commissioners we have here is unprecedented in the history of KWASIEC.I'm blessed with three lawyers as commissioners; I do not mean they are SANs, but they are senior lawyers and are old at the bar. That one puts us in good stead because there is nothing we will do that will not require the law. So, we don't have any reason to reverse our decision because our decisions must have been based on enlightenment from the law. So, this has equipped us adequately well.  I also have one astute administrator and therefore in terms of administration, he is there for us. To underscore that and having studied the enabling law, we have been moving in that direction and that's why we have released the timetable. You know we are conducting the election October 26, and the election date is more than three months to this time,  otherwise, some people  may say they we are overheating the polity. We have the law, we want to be properly prepared that is why we do things accordingly.
Are the logistics in place, what are you doing in terms of personnel?
Thank you; that is a bridge which we will cross when we get there because as said, we are working according to plan.  In terms of logistics, there is no problem about that. All things being equal we will keep you informed.
Some days ago the commission held a stakeholders' forum, what are the responses of stakeholders?
It has been very fantastic, and I'm sure that the questioner knows more than the questionee because your people were adequately represented. The political parties were adequately represented and they asked questions; it was a marvelous outing.
How are you taking care of the observations in respect of the timetable and the issue of nomination fees?            
On the timetable, we told them and we are still saying that we work according to the law. What we understand is that they cannot say the time for the election is too short because we have given adequate preparation. We gave adequate and sufficient notice to invite them. But again that also underscores the fact that there is nothing we do that people will not question and it has assisted us and we will be on our toes. We are independent, but we are not independent of people. We are responsible to people, that is the lesson we learnt at the forum. On the fee, again, even if we say nobody should pay, people will still ask question, nobody should pay?  But in the last election, that's 2010, it was N50, 000 and N100, 000 for councillorship and chairmanship respectively. And we are all aware of the inflationary trend; that informed our position. What the commission printed the other time at a cost, will not go for the same cost and that informed our position.
What assurances can you give the political parties, especially the opposition on putting in place a level playing ground?         
There are two key words there; ‘opposition,' ‘level playing ground;' as far as we are concerned we are an umpire, of course we will be an unbiased umpire by the grace of God. But, as I responded the other time, the issue of free, fair and credible election is a function of so many factors. As a referee, we cannot go to the field and play. So, we all have crucial roles to play including the journalists, to ensure that we have the best. By virtue of our position now, we can no longer vote. They cannot say me as the chairman voted for this political party or one of the commissioners voted for a party. To us, there is no opposition. I mean, what is opposition to us? There are political parties; opposition or no opposition belongs to the political class. They know who is and who is not in opposition. 
What roles do you expect ordinary Kwarans to play in the forthcoming elections?
They have enormous roles to play. They should conduct themselves peacefully and they should play the game according to the rules. The electorate should realise one thing that in the history of electoral violence in Nigeria, the gladiators have never been involved. You will never see that in an election, a councilor or chairman is killed; it's the electorate that suffers. So, the electorate should conduct themselves and not allow themselves to be used by the political class and that's the role they have to play. They should go out for accreditation and go back home. But in a situation where by the contestants are in the comfort of their roof enjoying and the electorate are there saying no, this one should win or that one should not win. I say we should know our limitations. As the umpire, the commission should know its limit. Even as journalists, you should know your limit. And I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the security agencies to perform their roles according to the law.
What are challenges of the commission and the moves to surmount those challenges?
The challenge we have now is not only to maintain and surpass the record, but also to improve on it. We want a non-violent election. And the politicians, we appeal to them to play the game according to its rules.
There is an Appeal tribunal ruling, which ordered a rerun for Offa Local government chairmanship and up till now the rerun has not been held or will it take place during the coming general council polls?
Yes, I was surprised this question was not asked during the last stakeholders' forum we held because I knew you will ask this. The position of the law is what we will abide by it. I told you I'm blessed with three lawyers, they will study the judgment and whatever is the position of the law, we will follow.