The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, under the leadership of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has commended the Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s government’s decision to allow the adoption of the electronic voting system in the recent local government elections in the state.
The Council made this known in a statement on Wednesday following the announcement of the elections results which had the ruling All Progressives Congress losing El-rufai’s political ward and two local government areas to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.
The governor had nudged the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission to come up with a fool-proof voting process; adding that his party did not have to win everywhere and that his government would “allow the people of Kaduna state to elect who they want.”
However, in a statement titled ‘A Glimmer of Hope from Kaduna’, the Sultan commended the state government for listening to the yearnings of the people by allowing the adoption of e-voting system.
He noted that democracy could thrive only when government hearkens to the cries of the people it governs.
The Sultan said, “Before now, only very few discerning Nigerians have an iota of respect for the state electoral process because of the prevalence of the syndrome of ‘who pays the piper calls the tune’.
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“However, the Government of Kaduna state under Governor Nasir El-Rufai has raised the bar in providing an ample example of how elections should be true reflections of the wishes of the electorate in the local council elections held on September 4, 2021, in the state.
“The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs reckons this development as a fresh beginning in the conduct of elections by our state electoral commissions.
“We urge other state governments and state electoral commissions to borrow a leaf from the Kaduna State Government and Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission by toeing the path of honour and ensuring cum institutionalising the sanctity and integrity of the electoral process.
“The Council is convinced that if Nigeria gets her politics right at all levels, everything shall be all right across the board, with positive multiplier effects on the society.
“The Council earnestly looks forward to observing more positive developments in the polity while praying that Allah relieves the country of the yoke of its current challenges.”
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