Time to restore integrity to LG elections
The outcome of the recent local government elections in Lagos State has restablished the pattern of the outcome of local council elections and the debate over the credibility and independence of the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) in conducting the elections nationwide. Going by the recent elections, the Lagos State electoral umpire declared that the […]
The outcome of the recent local government elections in Lagos State has restablished the pattern of the outcome of local council elections and the debate over the credibility and independence of the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) in conducting the elections nationwide.
Going by the recent elections, the Lagos State electoral umpire declared that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had won the chairmanship of all 20 Local Government Councils and 37 Local Council Development Areas. It also declared that the APC had swept the 375 councillorship seats, leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with just one seat.
This did not come as a surprise, as local government elections in Nigeria have long suffered a crisis of confidence and are now turning into a joke. As it has become the trend, the elections are often marred by widespread reports of disenfranchisement, logistical delays, lapses, electoral discrepancies and voter apathy. In many areas, there are reports of voters waiting hours, for election officers who never show up. A combination of these often deliberate operational failures results in a general dissatisfaction among the electorate.
It has gotten so bad that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, recently expressed concern over the conduct of LG elections by the state electoral umpires and urged them to step up the credibility of their polls. But as most Nigerians already know, the problems of the state electoral commissions are not that of capacity but rather, interference and control by incumbent governors. While some governors waste no time in dismantling elected councils upon taking office and replacing them with caretaker committees, those who hold elections exert unnecessary control, and in the end, the elections fail to meet integrity standards.
No doubt, among the three tiers of government, none has faced the kind of interference and usurpation of its powers as the local government. The signing of the bill granting autonomy to the local government councils by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in line with a Supreme Court judgement that directed states to abolish joint allocation accounts and establish separate accounts for LGs, was expected to grant the third tier of government some form of independence. But clearly, this has only made governors more desperate. And in their quest to gain unfettered access to the council’s finances, they have tightened control over the conduct of the LGC elections to ensure only their loyalists serve as chairmen and councillors. Time and time again, state governors prove that they cannot be trusted to conduct a free, fair and credible election at the grassroots and unfortunately, there is now hardly any state where the ruling political party has not swept the council elections. As a matter of fact, it has become a thing of pride to announce the ruling party as having swept the polls.
It is this self-serving mindset among governors that’s fuelling widespread calls for INEC to take over local council elections even though it will require a constitutional amendment. But without strong political will and mass mobilisation, the process is a tough order since it will require a bill to be passed by both chambers of the National Assembly with a two-thirds majority, then be ratified by at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly before getting presidential assent. And with many state assemblies acting as mere rubber stamps for governors, the odds are stacked against such a reform.
ore, it is worth reminding governors that a credible, fair and transparent election especially at the grassroots is a determinant of quality leaders for the country. And in any case, it will cost a governor, who is confident of his popularity among the people, nothing to ensure a free and fair council election. After all, in 2021, the Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, made efforts in this direction when he gave a free hand to SIEC to employ the use of card readers for the elections. Even when he faced accusations of programming the card reader, the election turned out to be one of the less controversial council elections with the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) winning El-Rufai’s polling unit, and five LGAs in the state. In the end, El-Rufai described the process as a win for democracy.
We at the Daily Trust urge the state governors to, in the interest of democracy restore integrity to the Local Government Council. Should this fail, then Nigerians must collectively rise to demand a constitutional amendment that will move the powers of the state electoral umpire to the federal level.
In the meantime, there is a need for increased synergy between INEC and SIECs, as well as a national conversation involving political parties, the national and state assemblies, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to explore ways of improving the credibility, transparency, and fairness of local government elections.