The Plateau State government will spend about N600 million to conduct local government elections.

Barrister Yusuf Gambo Hawaja, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the governor of the state, Barrister Simon Lalong, revealed the amount of money over the weekend during a reception organized for those who defected from the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Jos.

Barrister Hawaja, who attributed the delay in the conduction of the poll to insufficient funds, stated that the election would now hold in all the 17 local government areas (LGAs) of the state, including Jos North.

He said: “Local government poll will consume a huge amount of money and that is why the election is being delayed. Based on what has been calculated, about N600 million would be spent.

“We know that it is a lot of money. But with the level of preparation on ground so far, very soon, the election will be conducted since the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) has been constituted.”

One of the decampees, Alhaji Aminu Baba, who was the PDM vice chairman, Northern zone in the state, stated that he was in the APC before it was officially recognised.

Baba said he and other members of the party had been directed to move to the APC by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar since last year. He promised to abide by the rules and regulations of his new party.

Baba was the Jos North LG candidate of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) during the 2008 election in Plateau State that was marred by violence, following allegations of rigging.

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Plateau to spend N600m on LG polls