CPC supporters protest Kaduna council polls

BY FEMI ADI/KADUNA
No fewer than five thousand youthful supporters of the opposition Congress for Progressive Change, CPC took to the streets in Zaria to protest Saturday’s local government election, the results of which was released yesterday by Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission.

The aggrieved CPC youths, who marched through Zaria city to the Emir of Zazzau’s palace today , carried placards with an inscription in Hausa, “ The election is a fraud” , PDP is a party of cheats and thieves”, “SIECOM has been bought over” , “We won’t accept the results” and several others.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP won 22 out of the 23 local government council chairmanship seats in the state and cleared 95 of the 99 councillorship seats so far declared. But the CPC supporters are crying foul . Some of them accused the state government of doling out money to the state electoral body and election agents to rig the election in favour of PDP.

However, while the protest was going on in Zaria , the state governor , Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa went ahead to swear –in the winners of the local government polls at the Hassan Usman Katsina State House, Kawo, Kaduna.

The event which held under tight security was well attended by party faithful and friends of the elected council members .

As at 3.20 p.m, as the swearing in went on in Government House, the protesters were still encamped at Zazzau’s palace, chanting waar songs and “Bama so” ,which means ‘we reject the results’ .