PDP chieftain wants law forcing governors to conduct LG elections

ONITSHA, Anambra, Nigeria – A chieftain of People’s Democratic Party  (PDP), and former Commissioner for Land and Survey in Anambra State, Barrister Okoli Akirika  has called on the National Assembly to amend the constitution to make it mandatory for state governors to conduct local government elections.

According to him, the law  when amended will ensure seamless succession of democratically elected Local Government officers in the country.

Akirika who was reacting to the supreme Court judgement that barred state governors from appointing care take committee  in place of elected officers to run the affairs of local governments and the extension of local government officers’ tenure in Anambra state by Governor Willie Obiano, despite supreme Court judgement, said  there is lacuna in the constitution which governors are  capitalising on to appoint caretaker committee to run the affairs of  local governments.

Akirika made the call in an exclusive chat with  our correspondent in Awka, Anambra state capital. He said  the  lacuna in the 1999 constitution that allows state governors to perpetuate illegality by appointing caretaker committees to run local government councils must be amended.

According to him, the constitution clearly states that  state governors shall put every machinery in place to ensure  the existence of democratically elected government in local government area, adding that the same constitution did not say  how such system must be  in  place.

“Section 7, subsection 1 of the 1999 constitution as amended provides for a system of democratically elected  local government officers. It is something conceptualised by the law and it becomes anti democratic, unprogressive , retrogressive and worrisome for the state governors under any guise to appoint  caretaker committee  to be in charge of the affairs of the system.

 Section 7:1 says there shall be the existence of  democratically elected government at the local government  and the law does not say how such system will be in place. With this section the governors can decide to elect local government offices for two years and thereafter not conduct election again throughout their tenure” he said.

He said  the  law should be amended to ensure that at the end of every elected local government tenure , elections must be held to fill the positions as it is done in the state house of assembly, governors, national assembly members and the president.

Akirika also commended the Supreme Court for adopting serious interpretation of the law, saying that more should be done through status amendment.

“The National Assembly should amend the law  to ensure that the system of democratically elected local government officers are fully entrenched, functional and effective so that once a particular tenure is ending, elections are conducted into the positions.

“The law should provide for the federal government to withdraw funds meant for those local governments in the affected states if they fail to conduct elections. This will force governors to conduct local government elections”, he said.