A group under the umbrella of Concerned Niger Youths has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to disqualify the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Niger State.
The group alleged that the candidate, Liman Isah Kantigi, should be disqualified over his trial in an alleged money laundering case.
The coordinator of Concerned Niger Youths, Ndagi Lemu, said in a statement that it will allow PDP to foist a candidate with questionable public standing as its governorship flag bearer.
Lemu wondered why the PDP would field such a person as candidate for the state’s number one office despite knowing the enormity of his indictment.
The group drew attention to the Federal High Court ruling which indicted the governorship candidate for offences related to money laundering.
He noted that an attempt by Kantagi to reverse the judgment of the lower court at the appeal court was dismissed in February 2022.
“We therefore call on the Independent National Electoral Commission to disqualify him from the governorship poll on Saturday based on his indictment by a court of competent jurisdiction.
“We also urge the security agencies to do the needful by ensuring that Kantagi is punished for his alleged crimes against the people he is now aspiring to rule over. We are calling on all Nigerlites to rise up against looters of our commonwealth by ensuring that they don’t come near public offices to repeat such acts. We can’t have indicted character as governor of our state,” Lemu said.
