N/Assembly mulls constitution review for INEC to conduct LG polls

IPAC demands abolition of SIECs The National Assembly is considering an amendment to the 1999 constitution to allow the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to oversee local government elections rather than state electoral bodies. This move follows a recent Supreme Court ruling granting autonomy to local government areas, prompted by a federal government lawsuit. Reacting […]

• IPAC demands abolition of SIECs

The National Assembly is considering an amendment to the 1999 constitution to allow the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to oversee local government elections rather than state electoral bodies.

This move follows a recent Supreme Court ruling granting autonomy to local government areas, prompted by a federal government lawsuit.

Reacting to the development during a press conference in Abuja, the senator representing Kogi West, Sunday Karimi, said the National Assembly would ensure that state governments complied with the judgement of the Supreme Court by amending the constitution to address the contentious issues inherent in it.

Karimi, who is the Chairman of the Committee on Senate Services, said, “These include grey areas like the transfer of the responsibility of the conduct of elections to the local councils from the various state electoral bodies to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”

The lawmaker noted that the battle is not yet over, adding, “Some state governors will fight back.”

Also, the senator representing Delta Central, Okakuro Ede Dafinone, said with the new development, the 1999 Constitution ought to be amended to give INEC the legal right to be the sole body saddled with the responsibility of conducting local government elections.

“I think at this point in our national history and democratic journey, we have to put partisan politics aside and work collectively to amend the relevant sections of our constitution to rescue the local government system from the grips of our governors.

“I must commend the laudable effort of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for taking the lead in this respect by ensuring financial autonomy for the local governments across the country.

“We must do likewise to enthrone democratic principles at the local government level by ensuring that a credible agency, possibly INEC, is charged with the conduct of local government elections across the country in order to guarantee our people’s participation in democratic governance,” he said.

Senator Dafinone described last Saturday’s local government election in Delta State, where the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won all the contested chairmanship positions, as a complete sham and a mockery of democracy.

IPAC demands abolition of SIECs

In a related development, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has said that Thursday’s Supreme Court judgment on local government financial autonomy is a victory for sustainable democracy in Nigeria but can be eroded by the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs).

The IPAC National Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, yesterday in Abuja also called for the immediate implementation of the apex court’s judgment on the matter.

“The State Independent Electoral Commission is a dent in the nation’s hard-earned democracy. It is time to stop the charade called SIEC elections if we are serious and determined to deepen democracy in Nigeria.

He said the judgment had restored citizens’ confidence in the judiciary as Nigerians strive to fix the nation and make it great again.

“The Federal Government’s action in instituting the suit to liberate the 774 local governments from the clutches of state governors is the best decision it has taken so far. It is a giant step forward in revamping the economy and bolstering grassroots development across the country.

“It is unfortunate that governors, who ought to have bolstered local government development in the country, chose to suffocate it by retaining and utilising funds meant for LGAs,” Dantalle said.

IPAC also lauded the specific ruling of the apex court that no House of Assembly of any state has the power to make laws that could, in any manner, interfere with monies meant for the local governments.

He also urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to beam its searchlight to ensure funds released to LGs were prudently used for the good of the people.

LG autonomy will not work—Fayose

However, a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, said in an interview on Channels TV that despite the court judgment, the state Houses of Assembly and the governors will always be a clog in the wheel of local government autonomy.

“While I love and do not believe that any government should take local government funds, may I say to you very clearly this evening that you cannot take the baby from the mother? There is nobody who can become council chairman without a governor. Anyone telling you otherwise is wasting their time.

“Let me quickly remind you that the House of Assembly of every state controls the activities and checkmates the activities of the local government. Any council chairman who says, ‘Money is coming to me; I will disrespect my governor’, the House of Assembly will tell you to go and disobey him inside your house. This is because you can never even be a council chairman without the governor standing up for you,” he said.