The Chairman of the Gombe State Independent Electoral Commission, GOSIEC, Abdullahi Garba, has described the conduct of the state’s local government elections as a major milestone, following the expansion of the electoral process from 11 local government areas to 24 administrative councils.
Speaking while announcing the election results on Saturday, Garba said the expansion became possible after Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya approved the creation of 13 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs, to bring governance closer to the people.
“The last cycle of elections in 2023 was conducted in 11 local governments. But His Excellency created an additional 13 Local Council Development Areas to bring development closer to the people,” Garba said.
“We met, made our suggestions to him, and His Excellency graciously approved them. We also visited other states, including Lagos, where elections had already been conducted using LCDAs, and after studying their experiences, we returned and secured the necessary enabling law through the House of Assembly.”
According to him, the expansion increased the number of chairmanship positions from 11 to 24 and councillorship seats from 114 to 240.
“It was 11 local governments then, but now we have 24. We had 114 ward councillors before, but today we have 240 councillors. I think it is a great achievement, and we say thank you to His Excellency,” he stated.
Garba disclosed that while several political parties participated in the election, only a few fielded candidates across all the newly created councils.
“APC contested the full cycle in all 24 local governments. African Action Congress, AAC, fielded candidates in only three local governments, while the Democratic Leadership Alliance contested in six. Youth Party, YP, contested in three local governments, and Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, and National Rescue Movement contested in three,” he said.
Announcing the outcome, the GOSIEC chairman declared that the All Progressives Congress, APC, won all 24 chairmanship seats and all 240 councillorship positions.
“From the results we have received, APC has been declared winner in virtually all the local governments. It also won all the 240 councillorship seats,” Garba announced.
He thanked political parties, election observers, civil society organisations, security agencies, the media, and other stakeholders for contributing to a peaceful electoral process.
“In conclusion, I thank His Excellency for providing us with the enabling environment. We also appreciate all political parties for their support, as well as the observers, NGOs, and members of the media who have been with us throughout this exercise. May God bless you all, and I wish everyone a safe journey back,” Garba added.
