By Yusuf Ishaku Goje

NEWSDAILYNIGERIA: In Kaduna State, the three year tenure of the current local government councils, mostly elected in September, 2021, ends in November this year. Five months to the end of the tenure, there are no evident preliminary activities to signal that the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (KADSIECom) has meaningfully commenced adequate preparations. In addition, the Commission has not gotten the needed budget releases (cash-backed) to enable it commence preparation? It is also unclear when the election timetable will be made public; as well as whether it will be e-voting or manual voting.

Instructively, the avoidable scenario that happened during the 2021 LGCs electoral process in the State should be proactively prevented from reoccurring – by ensuring early preparation and timely implementation. Recall when the LGCs election, in 2021, had to be serially postponed – first from May 15th to June 5th and then to September 4th, with that of four LGAs further postponed due to said security concerns to the 25th of September.

KADSIECom in the 2024 approved budget has an allocation of N4.3 billion for the conduct of LGC elections. This is commendable, however, what is more important is cash-backed releases. The 1st quarter Budget Performance Report (BPR) shows that personnel expenditure expectedly had 23% performance, while overhead and capital expenditures respectively had 15% and 0%. Therefore, the level of cash-backed releases in the 2nd and 3rd quarters will be a key indicator to demonstrate if the Commission is in a position to conduct the elections timely.

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More so, it is important to recognize and adhere to the mandate provided in Section 150 of the Electoral Act 2022, which provides that local government elections be conducted in line with the respective sections of the Electoral Act regulating the conduct of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections.

No doubt, Section 7 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) envisages that the system of local government should be governed by democratically elected councils. This makes the appointment of Interim Management Committees (IMCs) illegal and unconstitutional, as State laws used to enthrone them are inconsistent with the provision of the section of the constitution cited above. This has been validated by a Supreme Court judgment in 2016 in a case entered against Ekiti State government.

To this end, local government elections are supposed to be held before the expiration of the current tenure of the councils to avoid appointing IMCs. Rumor has it that the Kaduna State House of Assembly has amended the Local Government Law, awaiting assent, to further empower the Governor to appoint IMC. We hope this rumor remains what it is. As the Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani, who has very rich pro-democracy credentials, should not be seen subverting democratic processes at the LGAs.

The success of the State government driven local government reforms in public financial management, policy and strategy and public service management towards improving quality of service delivery is largely dependent on having democratically elected, capable and accountable councils with the legitimacy and credibility to win public buy-in, ownership and support. We look forward to timely cash-backed releases to enable KADSIEC to accelerate preparation and ensure timely conduct of the free and fair elections. Local governments deserve better!

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Lets engage, ask the right questions and hold the government accountable.

Yusuf Ishaku Goje is an active citizen, civil society member and OGP enthusiast. He is also the Team Lead of Kaduna Local Government Accountability Mechanism (KAD-LGAM)

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