The Labour Party’s candidate in the 2023 Enugu State governorship election, Chijioke Edeoga, has urged the Attorney General of the Federation to initiate a constitutional amendment that would transfer the conduct of local government elections from state Independent Electoral Commissions to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Edeoga’s call comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s judgment affirming local government autonomy.
In a statement made available to the press on Tuesday, he stressed that the judgment’s benefits would only be realized through a constitutional amendment empowering INEC to conduct local government elections.
The proposed amendment would delete Section 197 (1) (b) and modify Section 153 (1) of the Constitution.
Edeoga emphasized the importance of local government administration in national development, citing its potential to spark rural development and employment opportunities, according to the Punch.
He urged the National Assembly to expedite the amendment process, given the urgency of the matter, as 22 states currently operate undemocratic caretaker arrangements in their local government areas. Edeoga’s call aims to ensure transparent and accountable local government administration, free from gubernatorial influence.
“To this end, an Executive Bill to excise Section 197 1(b) of the Constitution which created the state Independence Electoral Commissions should be initiated by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation. Section 153 (1) which created the INEC should also be amended to fully vest the national elections management body with the powers to conduct elections to local government councils.
“Efforts should be made to isolate the sections relating to local government elections from the basket of other amendments that have been proposed to the 1999 Constitution by the National Assembly and give it immediate attention to attain quick passage and Presidential assent”, he stated.
“Speed is of the essence, given that at least 22 of the 36 states currently run the local government areas in their respective states under undemocratic caretaker arrangements. This means that if the amendment is fast-tracked and approved by the President, elections in the local councils can be arranged to fall into a single calendar,” the Enugu State Labour Party leader stated.
He explained that the sense of urgency stems from the possibility of state governors continuing to exercise undue influence on local government council Chairmen through the instruments of the state electoral commissions.
“Given the clear and present possibility that the intendment of the judgment which is transparency and accountability in the use of local government resources by duly elected officers of local governments might still be manipulated by governors in whose powers it still is to determine who gets elected as Chairmen of the councils.”
He stressed the importance of the third tier of government to national development, insisting that the autonomy being restored to elected officers of local governments would spark off rural development in ways that have not been witnessed in Nigeria since 1999.
“Local government administration is to national political and infrastructure development what micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises are to national economic development – just as MSMEs represent the biggest employers of labour in most economies, council administration touches more lives on the aggregate than both states and federal government.
“In Nigeria for instance, where MSMEs are said to be capable of employing an equivalent of 84 per cent of the population, the 774 local government areas in the country, if granted full financial and administrative autonomy, will have the potential to not just employ more people than all the 36 state governments, but also spike the incubation and growth of more businesses at the grassroots level,” he said.
