NIGERIA'S NATIONAL ELECTIONS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 000572

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA'S NATIONAL ELECTIONS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
AREAS

REF: ABUJA 519

CLASSIFIED BY COUNSELOR JAMES MAXSTADT FOR REASONS 1.5 B AND

D.


1. (C) Summary: Nigeria held its long-postponed (reftel)
national round of Local Government Area (LGA) elections March

27. Overwhelmingly, whatever party ruled the state
government also won the LGA elections in each state, not
surprising as the "State Independent Electoral Commissions"
(SIECs) are normally appointed by the state governors. Voter
turnout averaged 15-20 percent in places where the elections
were held. The preliminary report of Nigeria's NGO
Transition Monitoring Group declared the LGA elections were
fraught with massive fraud, and post expects there will be
hundreds of suits in election tribunals. Around 50 people
died in less violence than many Nigerians expected, scattered
across the country. End Summary.


2. (C) LGA elections were held March 27 in most parts of
Nigeria. The LGA elections were canceled in some states and
some parts of other states, and the ruling PDP boycotted the
elections in Zamfara and Lagos while the opposition AD did
same in some parts of the Southwest. In addition to a
shortage of and late arrival of election materials, the
absence of an updated National Voter Register as required by
law, and virtually no voter education, the LGA elections were
marked by "irregularities." There were areas where the
elections were not held but results were manufactured and
"winners" declared. An opinion poll conducted by a
Lagos-based influential Nigerian newspaper, the Guardian,
showed that 91 percent of Nigerians believed the elections
were not conducted in a free and fair manner.

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VOTING IRREGULARITIES
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3. (SBU) Virtually every voting irregularity known to
democracies seemed to have been used in various places; SIECs
barring most/all opposition candidates from running, ballot
stuffing, voter intimidation, shortage of electoral
materials, absurdly high nomination fees in many places,
changed time/place of voting, false declaration of actual
winners, and using party members to run the elections as SIEC
staff were the most prevalent. The main difference between
states seemed to be how much the ruling party in each was
willing to leave to its opposition.


4. (U) In Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Kebbi, Zamfara, Bauchi, Benue,
Ekiti, Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers states, the ruling parties
captured all the LGA chairman seats and left only a few
councillorships under them for the opposition. All parties
seemed equally guilty. In Ogun, the PDP won all 20
chairmanship seats and took 230 councillorship positions to a
paltry 4 for the ANPP. In Zamfara, ANPP candidates won all
the chairman slots and left only one councillorship to APGA.
In Lagos, AD managed to stop its in-fighting long enough to
present lists of candidates, the PDP boycotted, and AD Lagos
Governor Tinubu inducted 57 AD LGA chairmen -- including 37
from newly created LGAs -- on March 30. In other states like
Katsina, Kano, Kaduna and Borno, opposition parties were
allowed to win a handful of chairman seats. In the Federal
Capital Territory (FCT),which is not a state, the LGA
election was run by the "Independent National Electoral
Commission" and PDP and ANPP each won three chairman seats.


5. (SBU) Katsina state may take the prize for originality.
With LGA elections so long postponed, state governments have
long appointed civil servants to be "Caretaker" LGA Chairmen.
As in the U.S., Nigerian law says civil servants must resign
before running for election so they cannot use their
bureaucracy to be elected to a post supervising that
bureaucracy. Just before the election, Katsina passed a law
allowing its civil-servant Caretakers an exception to having
to resign one month before the election, and those who ran
did not resign at all. Needless to say, the civil service
Caretakers won. Needless to say, suits against their
elections are on the way.


6. (U) The opposition umbrella Coalition of National
Political Parties (CNPP) described the elections as "worse
than 2003 general elections." In a statement released
shortly after the elections, CNPP Secretary Maxi Okwu said,
"every strategy was employed to foreclose the elections in
favor of ruling party candidates. These ranged from giving a
head start to these candidates being appointed caretaker
committee chairmen, prohibition and extortionist nomination
administrative fees for candidates ranging to N250,000 and
N100,000 (almost 2000 and 800 USD, far more than the yearly
salary for the positions) for chairmanship and councillorship
respectively, programmed tax clearance requirement demand of
letters of identification from district heads; mass
disqualification of opposition party candidates without
reasons."

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LOW TURNOUT
--------------


7. (SBU) In most places where there was an election, voter
apathy kept turnout very low. Most observers believe the
turnout ranged between 15-20 percent, although the official
returns put turnout as high as 40-70 percent in some places.
One refrain was often heard: "Why do we have to dissipate our
time and energy when the winners have already been decided?"
The opposition Conference of Nigerian Political Parties
(CNPP) put it a different way, "By shunning the elections and
staying put at home an overwhelming majority of Nigerians
have passed a vote of no confidence on our electoral system
and its managers."

8. (SBU) Like most places in Nigeria, Lagos State government
directed that movement would be restricted during voting.
LEGATT drove around and observed very few voters at the
polling stations during the 7am-5pm voting hours. The most
he saw were five at one station. A contact at the British
Deputy High Commission told a Consulate employee that at one
station where 1500 persons were registered, only 17 had
actually shown up to vote. .

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VIOLENCE
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9. (SBU) Election-related violence was reported in most
regions of the country, even though the LGA elections were
canceled in places the authorities described as "having
unfavorable security reports." The violence in most places
was scattered and low-intensity, possibly due to the same
voter apathy, although there were some larger-scale clashes
in some places. Violence in Katsina state's Karadua town
claimed at least 70 houses plus vehicles, motorcycles and
other property. PDP supporters reportedly stormed the town
on the eve of the elections carrying dangerous weapons and
chanting "We control the government, so we must win," and
attacked the residence of an ANPP candidate. ANPP supporters
counterattacked. Earlier, on March 22, suspected PDP thugs
at Batsari town in Katsina State had attacked the convoy of
ANPP Presidential Candidate Muhammadu Buhari. No one was
killed but scores of people were wounded.


10. (SBU) Elections results were suspended in Wukari, Takum
and Ussa LGAs of Taraba state due to violence. Sources said
that at least 2 people died while many houses were burnt in
Wukari in protests that SIEC officials there had pronounced
the PDP a winner after the vote totals suggested an
opposition NDP candidate had won by a large majority. The
incident renewed hostilities between the Jukun and Tiv ethnic
groups even though both the candidates were Jukuns. It seems
the Jukun NDP candidate was also backed by Tivs, Hausa/Fulani
and young Jukuns. Authorities in neighboring Benue state had
to rely on federal soldiers from Makurdi and Takum to restore
order in seven Benue LGAs. Tiv militia killed five and
injured many more in Kwande and Ukum, and in Zaki Biam armed
youths numbering about 40 killed one man for "trying to
challenge their order," while a stray bullet reportedly
wounded Benue State Lands Commmissioner Titus Madugu.
Madugu's driver and police bodyguard were killed.


11. (U) Conflicts leading to loss of lives and property were
reported at Owan and Esan East of Edo State. At Iruekpen,
Nigerian First Lady Stella Obasanjo's hometown, supporters of
PDP and ANPP had a bloody clash killing at least 2 people
while setting ablaze many private homes. According to a
journalist who monitored events "party thugs in mobile police
uniform and others with uniforms of neighborhood watch (a
government-sponsored group) paraded double-barreled and
pump-action guns and fired indiscriminately."


12. (U) One student at Lagos State University (LASU) was
killed in a demonstration at the Epe LGA offices. LASU
students were protesting the defeat of a fellow student, who
had run for LGA Chairman, and at first said that the deceased
had been shot by police. An official examination of the
corpse showed he had been stabbed with a sharp instrument.


13. (SBU) There were press reports that armed thugs halted
the release of election results in Delta State, but the Delta
State Commissioner for Foreign Relations, his Special
Assistant and the Director of the Delta State Tourism Board
told the Consul General and Pol/Econ officers that the
elections had transpired "peacefully." We have been unable
to verify reports of ten houses being burned in Ondo and
killings in Enugu and Oyo through police contacts.


14. (U) Hundreds of ANPP supporters blocked major roads and
set bonfires in Zaria, north of Kaduna, to protest the
declaration of a PDP winner of the LGA chairmanship election,
claiming that their figures showed the ANPP candidate clearly
won. Two people were reportedly killed while scores of party
supporters were injured on Saturday following a clash between
PDP and ANPP supporters at Jema'a and Bomo villages.
Elections were suspended in Soba, Kaduna North and Ikara
Local Governments.


15. (U) The same effect worked in the far fewer states where
opposition party governors reign. PDP supporters in
Maguemeri of Borno state attacked and burnt state government
buildings and vehicles, protesting that the ANPP-controlled
state government had snatched away their "hard earned
victory."
ROBERTS