Conduct LG Polls to Strengthen Governance, Rights Group Urges State Govts

Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti 

The Nigerian Human Rights Community, NIHRCO, has advised state governments yet to conduct local government elections to do so without delay in a bid to strengthen governance at the grassroots.

The advice was contained in a statement issued by Programme Officers of NHRCO, Fred Ojinika and Taiwo Adeleye in Ado Ekiti, shortly after the conduct of local government election in Ekiti State.

It was stated that at this time that Nigeria faces internal threats to democracy and growing concerns about public trust, it is important to deepen democracy and strengthen governance at the grassroots.

NIHRCO, which monitored the election in 177 wards of the state, is a coalition of 135 civil society and community-based groups spread across the country and was established in 2003.

The rights groups however pointed out certain challenges that it said should be urgently addressed in future local government elections.

The NIHRCO said a comprehensive report on the election is being put together which will be distributed across democratic institutions at home and abroad on lessons learnt and the challenges.

“‘The local government election was not perfect, but it represented a remarkable achievement in building sustainable democratic culture in Nigeria” the group said.

The group called on the National Assembly to create special intervention funds to assist state electoral commission to meet democratic obligations in line with the fiscal support given by the Federal Government to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It commended the Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission (EKSIEC) for early arrival of materials and effective administration of the entire process that had almost zero hitches.

“The Ekiti local government election is a confirmation that states can run their own affairs even better in many respects than the central government. Monitors observed that the opposition parties were non-challant towards the election,” adding that those interviewed argued that the leading opposition parties did not show keen interest in the election build up neither did they campaign during the run up to the Saturday election.

This, it said, indicated that the opposition in the state has been weakened compared with the situation in the past.

It also said that Ekiti needs more polling units given the growing population and the increasing number of new settlements observed during the election which were not hitherto covered either by INEC or SEIC.

The coalition said: “At this time that Nigeria faces internal threats to democracy and growing concerns of public trust, it is important to deepen democracy and strengthen governance at the grassroots. 

“The National Assembly and the Independent Electoral Commission need to work with the State Independent Electoral Commission (SEIC) to ensure that Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) are deployed in local elections.”

NIHRCO said the election had its own strength, opportunities and shortcomings that should be addressed to deepen democracy and people’s representation at the grassroots.

The group said Nigerians should be encouraged to show interest in local gqovernment elections, adding that if Nigeria gets it right at the local government level, it will be easier to conduct credible elections at the national level.