A coalition, the Nigerian Human Rights Community (NHRC), said it had completed plans to deploy 400 local observers across the 16 Local Governments (LGs) and 19 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) for the council poll holding across the state on Saturday, saying that the observers were expected to monitor the exercise and report back with the overall aim of deepening the democratic space in the country.
NHRC is a coalition of 132 civil society and human rights groups spread across Nigeria.
NHRC made this known a statement jointly signed by Taiwo Adeleye, Fred Ojinka and Kudu Abubakar, copy of which was made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Lagos, noting that the election will hold in 2,445 polling units, 177 registration Areas and in three Senatorial Districts across the state.
According to the Coalition, the election is expected to elect chairmen in 16 LGs and 19 LCDA, saying that the exercise will produce about 177 councillors who will drive development in local areas for the next three years.
NHRC affirmed local council elections were as important as national elections, saying that the observers being deployed “are expected to monitor and documents pre-election, during election and post-election issues relating to democratic gains, challenges, threats and opportunities with the overall aim of deepening the democratic space in Nigeria and empower the people to take charge of their affairs.”
Speaking further, the coalition said majority of Nigerians lived in rural communities and were directly affected by socio-economic situations at the local levels, pointing out that electing the right people at the local councils would help eliminate public distrust and contribute to choosing the right people at the state and national levels.
“The local councils are the first point of economic reference by Nigerians. The councils are the closest to the people. The Local Council officials are the ones the people see and relate with on local, state and national issues of development.
“It remains a critical aspect of sustainable development that is unfortunately ignored by the people, the opposition and the local and international communities,” the statement said.
The group said it was high time Nigerians began to take serious local government elections, noting that allocations to local councils had, in recent times, increased to the extent that they should be able to make meaningful impact in the lives of rural dwellers.
This was just as the Coalition observed that in Europe and America, local councils are managed by the best in the society who have a long range of experiences with a blood bound relationship with communities, sharing their fears and aspirations with the political actors, adding: “If Nigeria can get local government elections right, dealing with challenges in National elections will be easier.”