Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu has lamented the coronation of candidates of the ruling parties instead of proper conduct of Local Government elections in virtually all the states.
Yakubu spoke during a meeting with executive members of the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commission, FOSIECOM, at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
He acknowledged the shared responsibility between INEC and FOSIECOM in the conduct of elections and the challenges faced by SIECs in carrying out their mandates.
He said that INEC encouraged the establishment of FOSIECOM in a genuine effort to foster partnership for credible elections in Nigeria.
“Over the years, attempts were made to encourage the SIECs to maintain their independence.
“It is time to stop the coronation and conduct proper elections. State governors should allow the SIECs to have greater capacity for independent action.
“Many of the SIECs have no functional offices in the Local Government Areas in their states and cannot recruit their own permanent staff. In some states, the SIECs are either not properly constituted, have no security of tenure or their critical functions have been taken over by government officials.
“Some SIECs are only constituted on the eve of elections and dissolved thereafter. They are also severely under-resourced to the extent that some of them rely on INEC even for basic facilities such as ballot boxes and voting cubicles.
“Consequently, many Nigerians mistake the SIECs for INEC. Indeed, even some of the stakeholders, including candidates for Local Government elections, call them State INEC,” he said.
According to him, the situation has forced the Commission to reconsider some aspects of its relationship with the SIECs.
“Our support is now largely restricted to the voters’ register as provided by the Constitution.
“INEC cannot shoulder its own extensive responsibilities and at the same time extend almost limitless support to other independent electoral commissions for elections outside our mandate across the country from our lean Federal budget.
“INEC is not unaware of the ongoing discussions about the future of elections for the 774 Local Government Chairmen as well as Councillors representing the 8,809 electoral wards in Nigeria.
“However, under the extant law, the 36 SIECs are responsible for the election of 768 Local Government Chairmen and 8,747 Councillors, making a total of 9,515 constituencies. INEC conducts elections for the 68 constituencies in the FCT made up of 6 Area Council Chairmen and 62 Councillors, including bye-elections as they arise.
“It has been our earnest hope that the elections conducted by INEC in the FCT will provide a model for Local Government elections across the country.
“In spite of the challenges encountered, there has been a progressive improvement in the conduct of the Area Council Elections in the FCT. There is security of tenure for Chairmen and Councillors which is now four years.
“There are no caretaker committees as elections are held regularly. There is plurality in electoral outcomes as no single party has ever won elections in all the constituencies in the Area Councils.
“Happily, the Electoral Act 2022 that now governs the conduct of national and Area Council elections also applies to Local Government elections nationwide.
This has been made possible by the efforts of INEC arising from earlier discussions with FOSIECOM on the imperative of a model law to govern the conduct of Local Government elections across the country.
“I therefore appeal to FOSIECOM to take the bull by the horns. While there are legal and financial constraints to your operations, your independence does not necessarily draw from statutory or financial provisions alone.
“The courage with which you discharge your obligation to protect the integrity and credibility of elections is the most important determinant of success. There are no shortcuts to the discharge of this enormous responsibility,” Yakubu added.