APC and SDP Opt Out of Adamawa Local Government Election

It was confirmed on Tuesday that the major opposition political parties in Adamawa State will not field candidates for the upcoming local government election scheduled for Saturday, July 13.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) are notably absent from the list of 12 parties presenting candidates for the election.

Both the APC and SDP had earlier expressed skepticism about the Adamawa State Independent Electoral Commission (ADSIEC) conducting a credible council election on the stipulated date, asserting their decision to boycott the poll.

This stance was upheld, as evidenced by the final list of 12 participating parties disclosed to the media during an interaction with ADSIEC on Tuesday.

During the last gubernatorial election in Adamawa State, the APC and SDP placed second and third, respectively, trailing behind the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Mohammed Umar, Chairman of ADSIEC, convened a press briefing regarding the forthcoming council election, emphasizing that parties choosing not to participate would not be coerced, yet assuring the public of the Commission’s commitment to ensuring a free and fair electoral process.

Addressing allegations of unfair disqualification of chairmanship aspirants and pre-determined election outcomes, Umar dismissed such claims, asserting that ADSIEC had neither disqualified any candidate improperly nor pre-written election results. He affirmed the Commission’s logistical readiness for the election, which will span all 4,104 polling units across the state, with results to be tabulated transparently as they are received.

The ADSIEC chairman disclosed that the 12 political parties involved have screened 60 chairmanship candidates for the 21 local government areas of Adamawa State. The participating parties include Accord Party (AP), Action Alliance (AA), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alliance Peoples Movement (APM), Labour Party (LP), All Peoples Party (APP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), National Rescue Movement (NRM), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).