A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has restrained the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) from charging nomination fees of N10 million for chairmanship aspirants and N5 million for councillorship candidates in the forthcoming local government elections.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite on Wednesday followed a motion ex-parte filed by the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Democratic Party (ADP), and Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The plaintiffs had argued that the high nomination fees were unfair and a violation of democratic rights.
The court order partly states, “An order of interim injunction restraining the Defendant from imposing and collecting the sum of N10,000,000.00 and N5,000,000.00 for contestants into the offices of Chairman/Vice Chairman and Councillorship in the forthcoming local election to be conducted on the 30th November, 2024 or any earlier date fixed by the Defendant pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Summons filed by the Plaintiffs.”
The reports this ruling follows the announcement by KANSIEC’s Chairman, Professor Sani Lawan Malumfashi, on August 15, 2024, that aspirants for the local government elections would be required to pay non-refundable fees of N10 million and N5 million for chairmanship and councillorship positions, respectively.
The court’s decision effectively puts a halt to the implementation of these fees, pending a full hearing of the case, which has been adjourned to September 25, 2024.
KANSIEC is yet to comment on how this order will affect the local government elections set to hold on October 26th, 2024.
