Against all odds, the October 26, local government elections in Kwara State was held as scheduled.

 In the build up to the election, some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members loyal to Bamanga Tukur’s leadership of the party, had put obstacles on the way to prevent the holding of the council poll.

 The efforts of these PDP members was actively complemented by the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as both the APC and aggrieved PDP members in the state instituted two different cases at both the Federal High Court, sitting in Ilorin and an Ilorin High Court, seeking the stoppage of the council poll.

Three members of the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP in the state had approached the Federal High Court, sitting in Ilorin to challenge the mode of selecting the candidates for the local government election. They claimed that the candidates’ emergence was in gross violation of the PDP’s constitution as no primary was held.

The plaintiffs are Alhaji Ademola Yusuf, Alhaji Adebayo Jimoh and Prince Haliru Dantosho Mahmud, while the defendants are the state PDP, Senator Bukola Saraki and chairman of the state PDP, Alhaji Ishola Balogun-Fulani.

However, their bid to stop the local government elections failed, as the Court adjourned hearing on the case filed by them till a date after the council poll might have been held.

The presiding Judge, Justice Olayinka Faaj ruled that the inability of the Bailiff to serve the summons in a day was not a sufficient ground to continue the case.

He then adjourned the case to October 28, in which the state PDP would have been sufficiently served.

Also, an Ilorin High Court on the eve of October 26, the day for the conduct of the council poll, cleared the way for the conduct of the election, as the presiding judge, Justice Sulaiman Kawu gave the State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC), the go ahead to conduct the council poll.

The court’s order followed the dismissal of an application brought before the court by the All Progressives Congress (APC), praying it to restrain KWSIEC from conducting the poll as well as the Labour Party, the Peoples Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party from participating therein.

Kawu who maintained that Section 75 of the Kwara State Electoral Law has empowered KWSIEC to perform its constitutional duties is still invoke, dismissed the suit on the ground that the principle of public policy, lis pendis and self-help as heavily relied upon by the Counsel to APC, Deji Gbadeyan, is not in any way relevant to the matter on review.

He, however, stressed that the party had refused to act promptly having been served notice of election by KWSIEC since sometime in May this yearly.

“I considered the suit as lacking merit and I hereby dismiss the application,” the Judge declared.

 Apparently acting on the request of some PDP members in the state who visited him at the PDP national secretariat, Abuja on Friday, October 18, 2013, the chairman of the mainstream PDP, Alh. Bamanga Tukur made an eleventh hour frantic effort to stop the council poll.

 The aggrieved PDP members from Kwara State that visited Tukur were led by the former chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Prof. Shuaib AbdulRaheem, former minister of Sports, Hon. Bio Ibrahim, a former Secretary to the state government, Alh. AbdulRasheed Alada and Barr. Kunle Sulaiman.

 The visitors had requested their host to, among other things take disciplinary action against the likes of Senator Bukola Saraki, Alh. Kawu Baraje and the state governor, Alh. AbdulFatah Ahmed for promoting the ‘new PDP’.

 It was therefore, not surprising when the news of Bamanga Tukur’s decision to replace the candidates that had been duly cleared for the election with a new list said to have been submitted to him by Prof. Shuaib’s group filtered into the town.

 This development forced the state chairman of PDP, Hon. Ishola Balogun-Fulani to address a World press conference where he tendered all correspondence between the state chapter and the national secretariat of the party on all issues concerning the local government election.

At the press conference, Balogun-Fulani clarified that the national leadership of the party was carried along throughout the preparation of the council poll since August, 2013.

Balogun- Fulani said that the PDP national working committee, in a letter signed by the acting national organising secretary, Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar, had sent a monitoring committee, for the conduct of the Council poll scheduled for Saturday.

He said that he personally took the list of successful candidates in the council poll party primaries to Abuja after the primaries were concluded in the state.

He therefore described the speculation by some people that the party had no candidates for the election as mischievous.

 When all the above efforts to stop the council poll failed, Tukur on Friday, October 25, forwarded to all the security agencies and Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission a fresh list containing names of candidates he said are the authentic flag bearers for the party in the council poll.

 In a letter dated October 24, and signed by the Abiodun Dada and co, on behalf of PDP national Legal Adviser Victor Kwon, Tukur’s PDP asked the security agencies, especially the police, not to provide security for the poll or recognise the candidates of the New PDP as they did not emerge from proper primaries.

 The letter, signed by Barrister Abiodun Dada, was also copied to the state security service, KWASIEC and PDP national Legal Adviser.

 However, despite all efforts to stop the council poll by the Bamanga Tukur’s faction of the PDP and the opposition APC, the election was held as scheduled and the ruling PDP in the state went ahead to win all the available 15 chairmanship seats and 181 councillorship seats.

 The elated PDP leaders in the state – Senator Bukola Saraki, Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed and of course the national chairman of PDP, Alh. Kawu Baraje were full of praises for Kwarans for filing out en mass to participate in the council poll.

 They also praised the security operatives in the state for providing adequate security before, during and after the conduct of the council poll. They equally commended the state electoral body for ensuring a credible, peaceful and hitch free election.

 Baraje was the first to set the ball rolling when he dismissed report credited to the Bamanga Tukur’s leadership of the PDP asking security agencies to boycott the election.

He noted that adequate security was in place for the election.

Also, the PDP leader in the state, Senator Bukola Saraki described the report as speculative, saying the large turn-out of people for the election testified to the commitment and belief of Kwarans in the state PDP leadership.

Baraje added, “the party will win 100 per cent. We have done it before. We are still doing it. Kwara State is a unique state that delivers right from the grassroots to the national level 100 per cent for PDP.

“I can see security here and there. They are very much around. I was coming from GRA to my family house here. They stopped me in about three or four places and they are security operatives doing there job.

“I slept very late yesterday putting finishing touches to the election with other stakeholders and our leader, Bukola Saraki. The party did not tell us they received any letter, the security did not tell us they received any letter.

“Let me quickly point out again that we were here about two months ago to prepare for this election and to receive officials from the National secretariat of PDP whom we had written to send in its team to come and screen these candidates for today. And they’ve screened them. There are correspondences. “These correspondences are available in the secretariat of PDP, Kwara State.

“So if another letter comes, somebody is creating confusion somewhere and those are the kinds of confusion and impunity we are talking about if there is any letter to that effect.

The state governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed who voted at his Share, Ifelodun local government area expressed satisfaction with the impressive turn out of voters.

He thanked the security agencies in the state for maintaining orderliness during the election and KWSIEC for the smooth conduct of the election.