The Supreme Court ruling that granted financial autonomy to local government administration in Nigeria has sent state governments scurrying to conduct elections into the local councils in their states in a bid to avoid the withholding of allocation to the local governments in their states by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgement on Thursday, July 11, 2014, ruled that “the federation can pay LGA allocations to the LGAs directly or pay them through the states”.
“In this case, since paying them through states has not worked, justice of this case demands that LGA allocations from the federation account should henceforth be paid directly to the LGAs,” the apex court rules.
“A democratically elected local government is sacrosanct and non-negotiable,” it further said.
In other words, it is only local governments with democratically elected officials that will get their monthly allocations from the federation account; those that run with caretaker committees will not get.
With many state governments refusing to conduct elections into the local governments and instead opting for caretaker committees whom they appoint and who are at their beck and call, the Supreme Court judgement has put the state governments on their toes. The ruling has left the states with no choice but to conduct local government elections or risk starving the local governments of the statutory monthly allocation from the federation account.
States in a rush to conduct LG elections
Since the Supreme Court judgement, some vigour has returned to the local government administration as many state governors have been compelled to conduct local government elections in their various states.
Before the Supreme Court ruling, 21 states out of the 36 states of the federation were running the local governments with caretaker committees, while only 15 states had democratically elected council chairmen.
However, following the granting of local government autonomy by the Supreme Court, Adamawa State was the first to conduct local government elections, followed by Delta State.
Adamawa State held its local government election on Saturday, July 13, 2024, where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the ruling party in the state, cleared all the 21 council seats.
According to the results released by the State Independent Electoral Commission, all the councillorship seats were also won by the ruling PDP in the 226 wards in the North-East state, except the Demsa Ward of the Demsa Local Government Area where the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) won one councillorship seat.
In the Delta State local government election held on the same day, the ruling party in the state, PDP cleared all the 25 council seats.
The Chairman of the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission, Jerry Agbaike, who announced the results on Sunday, July 14, said one of the PDP candidates was returned unopposed.
States that have fixed LG elections
While Adamawa and Delta States have conducted local government elections, several other states have, in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling, announced dates for the elections in their respective states through their State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC).
In Rivers State, the State’s Independent Electoral Commission has announced October 5, 2024 for the conduct of local government elections in the state.
The RSIEC Chairman, Justice Adolphus Enebeli (rted), who announced this during a stakeholders meeting held in Port Harcourt, told the stakeholders that the planned conduct of the LGA elections followed the end of the tenure of the immediate past LG Chairmen in the 23 LGAs.
“There shall be local government council elections on Saturday, the 5th of October, 2024, in all the 23 local government areas in the state,” Enebeli said.
“One Councillor shall be elected in each Ward. The Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be elected for each of the local government areas,” he said.
Also, the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission has fixed October 19, 2024 for the conduct of local government elections in the state.
At a press conference held in Lokoja, the Chairman of KOSIEC, Mamman Nda Eri, explained that the commission is empowered under Section 197 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and also by the Kogi State Government, via the Local Government Election Law 2004, and the Electoral Act 2010, to conduct council polls.
“We are assuring you that these activities have been designed with the utmost consideration for inclusivity and adherence to electoral laws,” he said.
In Kwara State, the State Independent Electoral Commission slated the conduct of local government elections in the state for September 21, 2024.
The Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission said it has set machinery in place to conduct the local government election next month to usher in democratically elected chairmen for the 16 LG council seats in the state.
Similarly, the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) said LG polls would hold across the 21 council seats in the state on September 28, 2024.
“Election Timetable schedule of activities and other details can be collected from the headquarters of the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission, Awka, from Wednesday 14th August, 2024,” it said in a statement.
The Kano State Independent Electoral Commission, on its part, scheduled November 30, 2024 for the local government elections in the state.
Addressing a news conference in Kano, Chairman of the Commission, Sani Malumfashi, said the notification of the election will be issued on November 15, nomination forms will be available from October 1 to October 11, with submission of the forms due by October 18. He noted that the screening of candidates will take place from October 18 to October 20, while the list of eligible candidates will be released on October 24.
In Benue, the State Independent Electoral Commission announced November 16, 2024 as the new date for state’s local government elections earlier scheduled for July 6.
The Chairman of the commission, John Chen, told newsmen in Makurdi that the change of date was necessitated by logistical constraints, adding that the commission needed more time to prepare and procure election materials.
On its part, the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) postponed the local government election in the state indefinitely. Election into the 18 local government areas and 33 local council development areas in the state was earlier scheduled to be conducted on July 13. However, a state High Court in June declared that the 33 LCDAs created by the late Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu were unconstitutional. The court held that the law passed by the House of Assembly creating the LCDAs was signed by the late Gov. Akeredolu in Ibadan, outside the state.
However, the Chairman of ODIEC, Dr Joseph Aremo, said that non-compliance of political parties in line with the electoral process caused the postponement of the election.
In Kaduna, Chairperson of the Kaduna Independent Electoral Commission (KAD-SIECOM), Hajara Mohammed, announced October 19, 2024 as the date for the conduct of local government elections in the state.
At a meeting with political parties and other stakeholders, Mohammed explained that the current council officials were sworn into office on November 1, 2021 and would end their three-year tenure on October 31, 2024.
In Bauchi, the State Independent Electoral Commission fixed August 19 for the local government elections in the state.
The Chairman of the commission, Alhaji Ahmad Makama, said all necessary arrangements had been concluded to ensure free and fair elections.
He reiterated the commitment of the commission to conduct a credible and transparent election, urging citizens to come out and vote for their preferred candidates across the parties on election day.
The Jigawa State Independent Electoral Commission (JISIEC) said local government elections in the state will be held on October 5, 2024.
Chairman of the commission, Alhaji Awwal Muhammad, at a stakeholders meeting in Dutse, assured of the commission’s readiness to conduct free, fair and credible elections in the 27 local government areas of the state.
He recalled that the commission had earlier announced the postponement of the council election from June 2024 to June 2025, following the amendment of the state electoral law.
“However, it’s my belief that you are aware of the recent Supreme Court judgement directing all state governments to put in place democratically elected local government councils in their respective states, with immediate effect,” Muhammad said.
“In compliance with the recent Supreme Court judgement, the JISIEC, being law authority, deemed it necessary to revert to its earlier decision on LG election, and unanimously requested for re-amendment of the state electoral law, to conform with the Supreme Court Judgement, and consequently fixed Saturday, October 5, 2024 as new date, for the conduct of LG election in Jigawa state,” he said.
In the same vein, the local government elections will take place in Enugu State on October 5, 2024; Kebbi State, August 31, 2024; Imo State, September 21, 2024, and Katsina State, February 22, 2025.
Parting shot
The Supreme Court’s decision is seen as a pivotal moment for local government councils in Nigeria and a significant development in the nation’s democratic process. That the states are rushing to conduct LG elections shows that the judgement is already having an impact. However, the long-term impact of the ruling will depend on how effectively it is implemented and whether states align with the new legal and financial landscape. There is no doubt, however, that the effective implementation of the ruling could have a profound impact on governance and development at the local level across Nigeria.
