Former Offa Local Government Chairman, Prince Saheed Popoola, on Wednesday dismissed the August 31 date the KWASIEC has given to hold a rerun election in the council as illegal and a plot to destabilise the council.

Popoola, now of the newly registered APC, said in a statement issued in Offa that the KWASIEC Law makes it clear that a notice of 150 days must be given before (council) election is held in Kwara. He wondered why KWASIEC is violating the law even when the nullification of his election in February was based solely because his PDP challenger complained that the commission did not give adequate notice.

He said the fact that KWASIEC is willingly violating the law exposes a plot by the PDP leadership in Kwara to perpetually make Offa unstable because it has been an unyielding stronghold of the opposition.

The statement reads: "This is to alert the whole world to the illegality the KWASIEC, obviously acting in connivance with the PDP leadership in Kwara State, wishes to perpetrate in Offa Local Government just to impose a PDP government on the council.

"In a widely circulated press release on Monday, we stated that the PDP had concluded plans to railroad the KWASIEC into holding a fresh election into Offa LG any moment from now – that, in purported fulfilment of the court judgment which had since February called for a rerun.

"Because we knew the evil plots by the PDP we had drawn the attention of KWASIEC and the party to the provisions of the KWASIEC Law which provide for 150 days notice before an election is conducted. And for abundance of caution, we reminded them that this cannot be retroactive; that is, they cannot start counting from February. Rather than respect the law, KWASIEC, true to our expose, addressed a press briefing on Tuesday to announce that election into the council will hold on August 31.

"This suggests that KWASIEC is showing disrespect to the law establishing it, and may well be acting a script. The consequence is clear: we will challenge this rascality in the law court.  Indeed, it is our suspicion that the leadership of the PDP in Kwara and KWASIEC are bent on destabilising Offa which has been a pain in their neck. This flows from the fact that the ONLY reason the court nullified the last LG election was primarily because of insufficient notification!

"So whose interest is KWASIEC serving by going the same route? Having said, the people of Offa will always vote to keep their independence and dignity. They will, any day, say a big no to membership of a rapacious anti-development political dynasty which sees Kwara as a family estate."