KEBBI State Independent Electoral Commission (KESIEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of local council polls held on Saturday, August 31, in the state.

The announcement was made on Sunday, September 1, by the chairman of the commission, Alhaji Aliyu Muhammad-Mera in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital.

He said the APC won all the 21 chairmanship and 225 councillorship seats.

He noted that 17 political parties participated in the polls, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Labour Party (LP), African Action Congress (AAC), Boot party, Social Democratic Party (SDP), among others.

Announcing the result, he said the commission had approved and accepted the results of the councillorships and chairmanships for the LGAs, as declared by the returning officers of the various councils, as well as the results of the elections at the voting wards.

The chairman also commended the security agencies and all other stakeholders for their collaboration and expressed delight that the exercise went without hitch.

In July, The ICIR reported that the Supreme Court granted the 774 Local Governments Areas (LGAs) financial autonomy ruling that it was unconstitutional for the state government to hold on to or manage the LGAs’ funds.

Besides, the court barred the governors from sacking constitutionally-elected local government chairmen.

The ICIR reports that governors have been blamed for the underdevelopment of local governments in Nigeria.

They have been accused of squirrelling the funds meant for that tier of government and appointing their loyalists to manage them and help them to loot the local government finances.