Why state electoral commissioners should conduct LG poll -NILD DG

…Varsities win millions at debate competition   The Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILD), Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, has said that state Independent Electoral Commissioner, also known as Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) should be allowed to conduct elections for local government chairmen and councilors in the country. He said this […]

• …Varsities win millions at debate competition

 

The Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILD), Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, has said that state Independent Electoral Commissioner, also known as Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) should be allowed to conduct elections for local government chairmen and councilors in the country.

He said this in Abuja on the sidelines of the ‘My Nigeria-Our Nigeria’ debate grand finale, organized by Yiaga Africa and supported by Society Foundation.

Daily Trust reports that Veritas University won the debate, receiving a prize of N1.5m; Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) took second place, earning N1m; and Imo State University (IMSU) emerged third, winning a prize of N750,000.

“State independent electoral commissioners should be allowed to conduct elections for state local government councilors and chairmen and state electoral umpires should go. Through that, we shall be getting closer to the autonomy we are yearning for at the local government level. And through that, the issue of fiscal federalism will be realized,” Sulaiman said.

The Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, addressing the university students and other participants, said, “This country, Nigeria, is our country, and because it’s our country, we all have responsibilities to fulfill. If Nigeria is going to be great, it will be because you and I decide to make it great.”

While encouraging the students to act on the ideas presented at the event, he said they should feel free to do something about it and also reach out to the organisation if they feel the need to do so.

He said, “We need to show love to one another as a people and as a country because we can only thrive and succeed in these turbulent times if we show love for one another.”

Also, Associate Professor Abdullateef Owoade Adekunle, Head of the All-Nigeria University Debating Championship, urged the youth to persist in engaging, questioning, and debating.

He said, “Your voices are not merely the voice of the future; they are the voice of the present. It is through your voices and dedication to enlightened discourse that ‘My Nigeria, Our Nigeria’ will evolve from a vision into a reality.”

On his part, the Acting Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Mr. Chris Maiyaki, represented by an Assistant Director, Mrs. Joy Obaje, said, “As a regulatory agency of government with the mandate of ensuring the orderly development of quality university education in Nigeria.”