Hon. Dennis Adikwuru, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Imo State, has called for the transfer of the role of conducting local government elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that is truly independent.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
Hon. Adikwuru said the independence of INEC should be derived from the constitution and enforced by the people.
Adikwuru and others believe the independence of INEC is best guaranteed without its present head, Mahmood Yakubu.
Recall that while speaking to stakeholders on the preparedness of the commission to handle the coming Edo and Ondo governorship elections, the INEC Chairman, Yakubu, said the agency can indeed handle local government elections in addition to its present responsibilities of conducting federal and state elections.
At present, INEC handles the presidential, National Assembly, Governorship and House of Representatives elections, while each State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) conducts the Local Government Chairman and Councillorship elections.
In an interview with Sunday Independent on Saturday, Adikwuru said: “The issue of Local Governments as the third tier of government has been settled by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Also, the autonomy of the Local Governments has been settled in the constitution. What the Supreme Court recently ruled was in affirmation with the constitutional provision.
“Unfortunately, the other two tiers of government, viz, the federal and the states, have been in conspiracy to stifle local government administration and consequently retarded rural development in the country.
“In as much as elections into the federal and state offices are conducted by the national electoral body, the same electoral body should be empowered to conduct elections in the Local Government Areas.
“The issue of competence and capacity will be a different discourse.
“Looking at the poor performance of INEC so far and the apparent corruption, compromise and lack of integrity on the part of INEC officials, all we need is to revolutionise the place.
“This should come from both the government and the masses. While the government should allow the electoral body the desired independence, the masses should use every machinery at their disposal to enforce independence of INEC.
“This can be achieved because power lies in the masses.
“So, going straight to the question, my take is that INEC should be given the role to conduct LG elections with the proviso of ridding the body of government’s overbearing influence, corruption and the masses should come in to sanitise the body for efficient, transparent, fair and acceptable conduct of elections in Nigeria.”
Bishop Herbert Ekechukwu, a cleric and an economist, stated: “The Independent National Election Commission (INEC) plays a crucial role in conducting elections in Nigeria.
“The INEC has the capacity and the experience to register voters in all the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.
“INEC can manage electoral conflicts better than state electoral bodies.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission has more than 16,000 permanent staff and can deploy hundreds of thousands of ad hoc staff for elections.
“Some states with their meagre incomes cannot adequately staff and finance local government elections.
“INEC has the capacity and experience to procure, store and distribute vast quantities of election materials.
“They have adequate technology, including smart card readers and the bimodal voter accreditation system.
“In the area of dispute management, INEC has established electoral tribunals to resolve disputes arising from elections.
“The INEC, as presently constituted, is better placed to handle local government elections.
“States governments facing paucity of funds and lack of adequate manpower and logistics are ill equipped to handle local government elections.
“We have seen the local government elections so far handled by the state electoral body recording gross inefficiency. The party in power always records 100% fake electoral victories.
“Though INEC has its inefficiencies and corruption which are high, but as the Nigerian constitution and politics stand today, I give it to INEC.”
Hon. Charles Anike, National President, Eastern Union (EU), a socio-political pressure group, “The INEC under Prof Mahmood Yakubu is a scam and should not be taken seriously.
“How would a high profile corrupt officer like Prof Mahmood be given attention? Ordinarily, in a sane society, the INEC boss should be somewhere behind bar after his 2023 misadventure.
“The INEC mortgaged the lives of over 250 million people in the conduct of the 2023 general elections. Many lives were lost as a result of INEC’s deep seated corruption cum incompetence.
The echoes of the INEC misadventure in the 2023 elections are the reasons citizens suffering has become unbearable.