By High Chief Peter Ojonugwa Ameh
I would like to categorically state here that in the eight years of rule of former president Muhammadu Buhari, I supported only one policy which is Executive Order 10 signed in May 2020 that granted outright financial and administrative autonomy to state legislature, judiciary as well as the local government authority as the third tier of government in Nigeria,
I saw this – and I still see it- as the right step to free the local government councils and give them the needed independence. But the Judicial authority, not seeing beyond the need, truncated that process because Almighty Nigerian governors like WIKE (then of Rivers State) were against the survival and elimination of obstacles militating against the independence of these critical parts of our country’s democratic system.
We should all be concerned about the status and happenings within the local government system in Nigeria, it is now a notorious fact, quite disappointingly, that it has been hijacked by the Nigerian governors and I will want to state, emphatically, that I will totally support any collaborative efforts in the direction of working with National Assembly (10th Assembly) to carry out a comprehensive constitutional amendment that will lead to the granting of full financial and electoral autonomy to the local government system and administration in Nigeria, because I can say without mincing words, that the presumed failure or the inability of the local councils to drive and bring about development in Nigeria to a point that could have positive impact on the lives of ordinary Nigerians can easily be attributed to the total lack of local government election and financial autonomy as most of these local government administrators are imposed on the people, who, understandably , cannot be held accountable. No matter the laudable programme(s) of any administration at the federal level, without corresponding efforts at the local government level, all will amount to little or no impact on the lives of the Nigerian people.
These governors act with reckless impunity against elected local government chairmen and suspend them at will in contravention of all relevant laws and statutes. A case in mind is the treatment meted out to a local government chairman who dared to question the governor of Ogun State about how the state and local government joint account had been mismanaged.
The current law as regards the administration of our local government system no longer serves the interest of the Nigerian people and must be urgently reviewed to save and promote an effective local council system as expected in every democratic presidential system.
One of the major functions of duly elected councillors across the country is to make bylaws for the good governance and development of all local government areas across Nigeria. But as I write this article, to state that my emphasis is not misplaced and the importance of local government autonomy should never be ignored or underestimated and the reason why voter apathy persists in local elections is because elections at that level are totally manipulated to ensure that the governor’s party records 100% victory. Needless to point out that the constitutionally assigned functions of local government officials have been greatly eroded by the excessive interference and impunity of our governors.
The above has in no small way contributed to voter apathy. It is undeniable that without transparency there is no legitimacy and without legitimacy there is no trust.
I must say, without equivocation, that state Independent Electoral Commissions are the greatest democratic fraud foisted on our electoral democracy, and that is the major reason I have come to the undeniable conclusion that it is important that the conduct of local government elections becomes the responsibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), or we collectively work to enact and overhaul the laws that govern the affairs of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECS) because from the attitude and conduct of state elections by all SIECs it is impossible to get a free, fair and credible election under the existing arrangement.
The current system encourages massive rigging owing to the fact that SIECs are under the whims and caprices of state governors who use the state Houses of Assembly to manipulate the conduct of elections in favour of their political parties and, I dare say, no exception to this pandemic across Nigeria.
I wouldn’t know how many Nigerians have noticed, as I have, that over the years parties that control the state will stop at nothing to fraudulently tailor the results of local government elections in their party favour. You will also discover that all local government elections conducted in states are won by the party in power in each respective state under review; the opposition party in the state is always left with nothing. If Local authorities have autonomy and their tenure guaranteed, it will be easy for the people to hold them accountable and this will in turn bring development closer to the people and make for a robust democracy.
What is going on at the local government level in Nigeria is a mockery of democracy, There is an urgent need for all stakeholders – media, political parties, and critical election stakeholders – to work together purposefully to establish the needed environment for good governance to grow and save our people from bad leadership.
SIECs are the greatest electoral abracadabra (the more you look, the less you see) imposed on our electoral representative democracy. My appeal to all lawmakers is to work and use moral persuasion to birth a new effective administrative system for the local government tier in Nigeria, if by your commitment to rescue our people from this electoral rascality and by so doing if any governor feels aggrieved or seem to be more interested in Funds meant for the local government councils, let him resign and contest as local government Chairman and he or she should be assured of the support of all Nigerians.
The bottom line of my relentless advocacy for a free, fair and credible electoral and election management process is to draw the attention of all and sundry to the fraudulent means of conducting our local government elections in Nigeria.
Opposition political parties can win local government elections if it is conducted under the right atmosphere of a free, fair and credible electoral process.
We can not continue with this charade called elections because that is why we now have moribund local government councils in Nigeria, There is no need to deceive ourselves by calling the charades that take place across the country elections. It should rather be called the selection/imposition process and the governors should stop wasting taxpayers’ monies conducting such a sham of election because nowhere in the world the ruling government in the state will cruise away to victory with 99.99% contested seats.
If we cannot have free and fair elections at the local government areas level, they rather adopt the selection method and save our funds and put it into more productive use like the construction of roads, schools and hospitals. Just select your preferred candidates then announce winners and stop wasting taxpayers’ money. We will still accept the outcome of the process. We do not get a choice until the Constitution is amended.
Amendment for the local government administration and elections laws can not be handled that easily because one need two-thirds of the state Assemblies to endorse such amendments, even if passed by the National Assembly, and with the state Assemblies practically in the pockets of the state governors, it is most unlikely to pass the approval test.
Local government elections are food for the boys of the governor. It is seen as the affirmation of the governor’s will and power. Na who dem approve dey win, and na only the party way the govern the state fit win for local government elections.
States will not be arm-twisted by the state governors if we have a free local government election system in Nigeria.
We must place our focus on taking over state assemblies or doing something legally that can free the local government elections from the whims and caprices of the state emperors.
Recommendations:
States Independent Electoral Commissions
- Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) relating to the place of local governments as the third tier of government should be amended to specifically guarantee the existence, establishment, structure, composition, finance, functions and tenure of local governments under the Constitution.
- Sections 153, 197 and the third Schedule to the Constitution should be amended to provide for the following re-designation and re-ordering of states Independent Electoral Commission:
Joint State/Local Government Account
- Section 162(5)-(7) of the 1999 Constitution should be amended to abolish the Joint State/Local Government Account.
- Section 162(5)-(7) of the 1999 Constitution should be further amended to provide that any amount standing to the credit of the Local Government Councils in the Federation Account should be paid directly to the various Local Governments.
I also call for a robust National Electoral Reform conference.
- High Chief Peter Ojonugwa Ameh was a presidential candidate (2019), former National Chairman Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP).
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