LOCAL government elections in Nigeria are often devoid of serious contest because the assumption is that the ruling party in each state holds the ace over who becomes LG chairmen in their respective state. Many of the State Electoral Commissions (SIECs) have not been able to conduct local government elections that is free of sharp practices.
The state electoral body is seen as an appendage of the party in power. Most SIECs operate at the mercy of governors to whom they owe their appointments. It is almost impossible to ascribe integrity to local elections in Nigeria because there are clear instances where results were declared without the recourse to the rules governing the game.
Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, recently declared at a public function that the conduct of LG elections in virtually all the states has become mere coronation of candidates of ruling parties.
There were several instances where opposition parties pulled out or refused to take part on the premise of lack of a level-playing field by SIEC.
Recall that early this year, 16 parties in Osun State threatened to pull out of local government elections, alleging insincerity on the part of the State Independent Electoral Commission. Other examples were Edo and Adamawa State, where opposition parties backed out for fear of being rigged out.
In this case, Plateau State is no exemption; all four LG elections held are regarded as short of standard practices. All these have weakened the enthusiasm of the electorate participating in local polls; hence, a low turnout is often recorded.
However, the incumbent governor of the state, Caleb Muftwang promised to change the narrative as he inaugurated the State Independent Electoral Commission members, but there is palpable fear among the opposition of the governor and commission living up to their promises of credible elections.
Some of them stated that their fear was based on the previous experience where such elections were characterised by government fiat. They claimed that this is the stock in trade of parties in power across the country.
To allay the fear, Governor Mutfwang, during the swearing-in of members of the commission, tasked PLASIEC members with free, fair, credible, and inclusive elections in the state, adding that one of his administration’s missions is to rectify past mistakes by ensuring that genuine grassroots governance emerged in a democratic manner.
His words, “We have come with a mission of correcting the mistakes of the past and ensuring that the people of Plateau State truly elect those who will govern them at the grassroots. The last two local government elections in the state were misfits and undemocratic, dragging the name of the state into disrepute among the community of states in Nigeria.”
The governor said the members were meticulously chosen based on their track records, particularly the chairman, who has been in the business of conducting elections for years. He tasked the appointees to uphold the tenets of democracy through the conduct of free and fair elections, pledging that his administration would not interfere in the affairs of PLASIEC.
“I am a firm believer in the efficacy and effectiveness of local government administration, and so we will allow the people to elect those who they want to lead them. Since we came on board, we have not misused local government funds because we believe in having credible leadership at the local levels.
“I want to assure Plateau people that we will raise the bar of credible and reputable local government elections. We will ensure true democracy takes place at the local levels. You are coming at a time when the Commission has a trust deficit, and I, therefore, charge you to conduct local government elections in line with best global,” Mutfwang assured.
The Chairman, PLASIEC, Plangji Cishal, echoed the determination and commitment to conduct a free and fair local government elections during the visit of the Executive Director, Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth, and Advancement (YIAGA).
Cishal, though acknowledging the enormous task ahead, assured that he would work with his team to ensure transparency and credibility. “We are studying the workings; we are seeing some deficits, and we are working at correcting them. One of the first signs of integrity is openness to scrutiny. We have not closed our doors to interventions or the media. The lives and destinies of close to six million people are our responsibility.
“We are committed to having nothing less than credibility and global standards in the conduct of the local government election. We want to set the tempo that others will follow,” he promised.
Based on assurances, seven parties, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Party (APC), Labour Party (LP) People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Action Democratic Party (ADP) Social Democratic Party (SDP) had conducted their primary and candidates emerged accordingly.
Though the primary in some cases was fraught with controversies occasioned by imposition, thuggery and other malpractices. It was learnt that the candidates have started purchase of forms from the state electoral commission.
Responding to the assurance given by PLASIEC and the state government, the publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Shittu Bamaiyi, said the party is fully prepared for the election, adding that so far there is no indication of any attempt to circumvent the election either on the part of PLASIEC or the state government.
“We are not afraid of the election; we are holding them to their words, and they are under close watch of the people. Though there are some funny moves to frustrate the APC, we are not deterred by the antics of the PDP and the state government,” he said.
The chairman of the Labour Party, Mrs Grace Zamfara, who said the party is fielding candidates for all the local government areas of the state, said all eyes are on PLASIEC to ensure that it conducts the election in a fair manner.
However, the chairman, Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Mallam Rabiu Lawal, said the party is participating in the election based on the assurance by the governor and PLASIEC to conduct free and credible elections.
“We are not sleeping over this election; the party is fully prepared, but we would not tolerate a situation where the governor and commission will be somewhere announcing results while election is still going on. There is also a plan to disenfranchise us from participating in the election through the sale of nomination forms at a very exorbitant price. For councillorship, it goes for N600,000, while the chairmanship goes for N1.2 million. But in spite of this, we have made up our minds to be on the ballots.
“We are contesting in almost all the local government. We don’t have any fear; we are confident that we will win the election. We are not happy with the price for the nomination forms for both the councillorship and council election. It goes for N600,000 for the councillorship and N1.2 for the chairmanship.
“The state government and the electoral commission promised a free and credible election; we are watching if they will live up to their words. By the constitution of the country, the forms are not to be sold. We get forms free from INEC; PLASIEC is being sponsored by the government; why should that of the state be different? It is a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise us from the election, but we are not bothered.”
Also, the Chairman of of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Mr. Bitrus Boyi, said there is an indication that the local government election will be a departure from the past, adding that the governor has so far demonstrated integrity by constituting members for the commission within a short time of being in the saddle brook instead of recircling the transition committee members in place.
From all indications, all eyes are on Governor Muftwang and the commission to see if they can change the narrative by conducting credible local government elections that would be a reference for other states.
An observer, Dr. Markus Jonathan said the October 9th local government election on the Plateau will be an integrity test for both the governor and the Commission adding that if the ruling party in the state, especially the governor will allow the commission to do its work without interference, it will not only boost the image of the governor but a proof that free and fair local government election is possible in Nigeria.
“Now that the Supreme Court has pronounced local government autonomy, we should begin to think of credible local government election to produce credible people not appendage or chairmen that are subservient to the governors, and I want to believe that Governor Mutfwang can set the pace in this regard through noninterference in the forthcoming local election while the PLASIEC too should be upright enough to do the right things
“ Also, it is undemocratic and virtually impossible for any ruling party to claim it can win all the chairmanship and councillor seats without conceeding or losing any. The fact is that local government election in Nigeria is a charade and the puzzle is that these governors and their parties always find it difficult to win by 100 percent in the general election but always find it easy to score 100 in the local government elections” he said.
Indeed the October 9 council poll in Plateau is another opportunity for the major parties to test their strength and relevancy, especially the PDP and APC.
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