The imperative for LG electoral commissions

Since the recent Supreme Court judgement that granted financial autonomy to local governments in Nigeria, state governors have been racing against time to beat the court deadline and avoid stoppage of grants from the federation accounts to recalcitrant states. So far, many states have conducted their local government elections while others have set time for it.

However, it has remained debatable whether the elections conducted by states have passed the integrity test and reflected the wishes of the electorate or not. Those who have been monitoring the conduct of the elections are of the opinion that the elections are a sham and are far from being free, fair and credible.

The win it all syndrome that usually characterised the conduct of local government elections did not only play out but has become worse in most of the elections conducted recently by state Independent electoral commissions (SIECs). State governors ensure that only candidates from their parties are declared winners.

We have seen how the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won all the chairmanship and councillorship seats in Adamawa state. The same scenario played out in Benue state, where the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) swept all the elective positions.

If you are still optimistic about the conduct of local government elections in Nigeria, what happened in Rivers state will compel you to change your mind.
An unknown political party, the All People’s Party (APP), was declared the winner of 22 local governments in the state.

While Governor Simalayi Fubara might have cleverly planned the whole scenario to outsmart his political estranged godfather, Nyesom Wike, one imagines how APP became acceptable and coasted to victory in a PDP-stronghold within few months of its existence in the state.

When Senator Sani Musa (Niger South), sponsored a bill for the establishment of Nigerian Local Government Electoral Commission (NILGEC), Nigerians heaved a sign of relief. There is no gain saying the fact that the establishment of NILGEC is a crucial step towards ensuring grassroots participation in governance.

One of the major reasons for the creation of local governments in Nigeria is to bring governance closer to the people. According to the bill, the NILGEC will be an autonomous body with the mandate to organise, oversee and conduct elections for the offices of local government chairman and councillors in all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The functions and the power of the commission are: to conduct free, fair and transparent elections for local government chairmen and councillors, prepare and maintain an accurate and up-to-date voters register, recruit and train electoral officers and staff for efficient election management. The commission is to monitor and supervise all electoral activities and processes.

Besides, NILGEC shall operate independently, free from external influences and interference. The commission, like the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), shall have its own budget, approved by the National Assembly to ensure financial independence.

The bill also stated how the commission should be constituted. For instance, NILGEC shall consist of a chairperson and six commissioners appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate. The chairperson and commissioners shall serve for five years, renewable once.

The Local Government Electoral Commission Bill could not have come at a better time than now when majority of Nigerians have passed a vote of no confidence on the local government elections in the country being conducted by SIECs. The state independent electorate commissions dance to the tune of their governors. They always announced results in favour of their state governors’ political parties.

Their unwholesome practices have dampened the morale of the electorate and created a huge voters apathy. The electorate hardly come out to exercise their civic responsibility. With the elections outcome already pre-determined ,voters felt it will be an exercise in futility to vote when their votes will not count.

But with the success story of INEC in the conduct of FCT area councils elections, where candidates from different political parties won, the National Assembly should hasten the passing of this important bill. The much talked about financial autonomy granted to local governments should be accompanied by political autonomy.

People at the grassroots must have the liberty to vote in a free and fair election. The imposition of candidates by the state governors against the wishes of electorate retards local government development. These imposed leaders do not care to account for their stewardship to their people.

To them, their emergence is not through the popular people’s mandate but political godfathers. After 25 years of democracy, local government system has been bastardised beyond recognition with nothing to celebrate. Local government, as a third tier of government, cannot perform their local functions.

Their constitutional roles have been tied up to the apron-strings of governors who seldom allow them to breath. In order to deepen democratic participation at the grassroots, accelerate development and above all reduce poverty, there is the need for quality leadership at the local governments. To achieve this, there is the need for free and fair elections. This necessitates the creation of Nigeria local government electoral commissions to conduct seamless and transparent local government elections in the country.

Ibrahim Mustapha,
Pambegua, Kaduna state
08169056963.