A Human Rights Activist, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman has noted that allowing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct local government election would put stop to charade election outcome being used to experience from the conduct of the States Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs).
Sulaiman made this note amidst the decisions of the Constitutional Review Committee of the joint members of the National Assembly to receive opinions and suggestions from Nigerian people on the exercise in order to have workable Constitution for the current Nigeria democracy.
In a statement signed by the Activist who double as the Executive Chairman,Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) called on the State Governors, particularly, the current members of the State House of Assemblies, to make a decision to allow INEC to do the conducting of the election.
While insisted that this will have a good development and uniformity among third tiers of Government in the country, insisting that saddle the responsibility of conducting Local Govt election on the nation’s electoral body would bring sanity and efficiency into the local government electoral system.
As the current Government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had set the machinery in motion to review the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, the activist also called on Forum of Speakers of the State House of Assemblies to ensure two – third of supporting the Bill for the inclusion in the proposed new amended Constitution.
Giving the reason that the Local Government election conducted by State electoral body used to be one sided by making the process to become the affairs of the party ruling such State by not allowing genuine electoral contest in the local government system of the country.
According to him; ” The Local Government system that is supposed to serve as training ground for political leaders, administrators, had been relegated to background because of selfish political interest and nothing to write home about to the extent that opposing political actors had lost hope in the local government electoral system.
“The only saving grace for the local government system and to save the system from the bridge of collapsing in the country,is to allow the nation’s electoral body to saddle with the responsibility of conducting the local government election henceforth.
“If this Bill could be supported by two-third of the State House of Assemblies,it is going to deepen the nation’s current democractic experiment in the grassroot level of the country”, the Comrade added.
Suggesting that the timing of conducting the local government election should make to be different from that of general election in order to bring even development, sanity and uniformity in the local government system in the land.
Sulaiman who is also a Convener, Save Lagos Group (SLG), therefore, reiterated the call to the members of State House of Assemblies to support the Bill being earlier passed by the two Chambers of the National Assembly to return the responsibility of conducting Local Government election to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
