The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take over the conduct of local government elections from State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs).
NULGE National President, Mr Aliyu Kankara, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
Kankara said the transferring responsibility for council elections to INEC would strengthen democracy, restore public confidence in the electoral process, and produce credible leadership at the grassroots.
“We should abolish the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) and allow INEC to conduct local government elections across the country,” he said.
He questioned the credibility of elections in states where a single political party wins virtually all chairmanship and councillorship positions.
When one political party wins all the chairmanship and councillorship seats in a state, that is not a credible election.
“People should be allowed to vote for leaders of their choice. Once leaders know they are accountable to the people, governance at the grassroots will improve,” Kankara said.
The NULGE president accused SIECs of failing to consistently deliver free, fair and transparent local government elections in many states.
He said the existing arrangement weakens democracy because election outcomes often fail to reflect the wishes of voters.
Kankara argued that credible council elections would produce chairmen and councilors who are accountable to their constituents and committed to serving their communities.
He stressed that elected officials should answer to the electorate rather than political leaders who influenced their emergence.
“When leaders know the people elected them, they will be accountable to the people and work for grassroots development,” he said.
Kankara also said the credibility crisis surrounding local government elections had discouraged many qualified Nigerians from contesting.
“Many responsible people do not want to contest because they believe the process is faulty and voters are denied the opportunity to choose their leaders,” he said.
He maintained that credible local government elections were crucial to strengthening democratic governance, improving service delivery, and accelerating development at the grassroots level.
The NULGE president expressed confidence that electoral reforms would restore public trust in local government administration and deepen democracy across the country.
Source: NAN
