Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau has said that local government elections held in the state on Saturday will consolidate peace.
Lalong stated this while interacting with journalists in Ajikamai, Shendam Local Government Area (LGA) where he voted.
The governor said it was usually difficult to transit from one elected government tenure to another.
“Anytime we come to the end of the tenure of local government councils, people become anxious of caretaker committee.
“I promised that there will not be caretaker committee in view of the Supreme Court decision that caretaker is illegal.
“They nullified caretaker committee in Kwara and that is what motivated me and I said that whatever happens we will transit from one democratic regime to another.
“We have put in a lot of efforts to ensure that we reach this stage. We have been preparing for this election for the past five months.
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“Anytime there is a move to conduct local government election, the people will be apprehensive over fears that there will be crisis.
“This is going to be a test of peace in Plateau, people are voting peacefully and I pray that we will end in peace.
“This is the beginning of the consolidation of peace in Plateau because it is not easy to transit from one elected local government administration to another,” he said.
He said there was a move earlier on Friday to scuttle the efforts but the judiciary prevailed.
He stated that it was not the first time a party is barred from contesting election.
He pointed out that the APC lost in Zamfara where the party was barred from participating in the election because of internal fights.
“Everything was handed to the PDP in the state beginning from House of Assembly to governorship but we didn’t shout.
“The same thing repeated itself in Bayelsa where APC won the governorship seat but the Supreme Court said no and we did nothing”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the elections started by 8 a.m. in some of the polling units visited.
Mr Peter Chintok, Presiding Officer, Kwapkuwa Polling Unit, Pankshom Ward of Shendam Local Government said they started accreditation and voting by 8 a.m.
According to Chintok, the turnout is encouraging.
It will be recalled that the Plateau Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) had barred the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) citing a judgment of some members of the party secured against their leadership.
The aggrieved PDP members challenged their exclusion at the High Court and the Appeal Court but lost at both levels.
(NAN)
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