Controversy as NASS moves to rush new body to conduct LGA elections

There are indications of a spirited move by the National Assembly to fast track the necessary legislative process that would end the power of state independent national electoral commissions to handle local government elections.

Tribune Online gathered that the brains behind the process hope to expeditiously work on the project as soon as members of the 10th Assembly currently on recess, reconvenes.

The bill, initiated by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, wants a new body to be called the Independent Local Government Electoral Commission (NILGEC) to take over the power currently exercised by individual state electoral commissions in conducting election for local government chairmen and councilors.

The bill came in the wake of the judgment of the Supreme Court in July granting financial autonomy to local council and abolishing the joint states and local government accounts.

While some observers applauded the judgment, others perceived it as an affront to the intrinsic federalism principles and the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended, especially Section 162(6-8).

According to sources, for the bill to scale through the hurdles, the National Assembly will need to repeal section 197(1) of the constitution, which requires that there shall be established for each state, State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) whose composition and power are set out in the constitution.

However, the main obstacle in the quest to alter the provision in the constitution is said to be the necessity for the state Houses of Assembly to key into the proposal provided for in section 9 of the Constitution.

The National Assembly is determined to push through the new law against the provisions of the constitution.
Coupled with this is the stance of some stakeholders against the proposed legisla-tion, which they said its implantation would be fraught with difficulties as well as be at variance with federal principles.

They believe that if the bill is enacted into law will lead to a constitutional impasse because in their opinion, some lawyers will not hesitate to challenge it in the court of competent jurisdiction.

Already, YAIGA Africa, one of the prominent organisa-tions in the advocacy for independence of the SIECS, cautioned against the seeming move to undermine the ideals of coordinate relationship in a federal system, calling for the independence of the commissions instead of the proposed legislation.

The executive Director of YAGA Africa, Samson Itodo said abolishing SIECs is not a solution to flawed local government elections but instead, addressing the underlying issues and strengthening SIECs through legal and institutional reforms will enhance local democracy and preserve the integrity of LGA elections.

Itodo, observed in a statement that the proposal is fundamentally flawed and will have far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s 25-year democracy if implemented.

“First, it will overstretch an overburdened INEC leading to poorly conducted local elections. Second, it undermines the autonomy of states guaranteed in the Constitution, potentially leading to an over concentration of power in the Federal Government.

“Thirdly, it weakens local democracy and citizens’ participation as local communities will be stripped of the opportunity to participate in decision-making.”

He noted that the National Assembly introduced a provision in the 2022 Electoral Act to regulate the procedure for LGA elections in a bid to salvage the integrity of local government elections, adding that SIECs were compelled to conduct local elections in conformity with the procedures laid out in the electoral Act.

According to him, states have since been updating their electoral laws to conform to the provisions of the Act.

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