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State Electoral Commissions Should Be Scrapped – AGF Fagbemi
The Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, has called for the abolishing of State Electoral Commissions, which he identified as the primary obstacle to the progress of local governments.
This statement was made on Monday in Abuja during a one-day event titled ‘Discourse on National Nigeria’s Security Challenges and Good Governance At the Local Government Levels’.
The event, organized by the House of Representatives, focused on the theme ‘Nigeria’s Security Challenges And Good Governance At The Local Government Levels’.
Fagbemi pointed out that governors have used the deficiencies and gaps in certain sections of the 1999 Constitution to undermine and marginalize local governments.
He accused governors of exploiting the loopholes in Section 7(1), Section 83(3), Section 7(5), and others to assert their authority over local governments in the country.
Fagbemi highlighted that these deficiencies have enabled governors to violate the rights of local governments, consequently depriving grassroots communities of their representation.
The Minister of Justice emphasized that a significant issue within local government is the manipulation of state electoral commissions to install leaders through fraudulent elections, while many Governors opt for appointing caretaker leadership.
He highlighted the detrimental impact of Governors misusing joint accounts, leading to financial constraints on local governments due to the withholding of federal allocations.
In response, he advocated for the elimination of State Electoral Commissions to promote genuine democracy at the local level.
Furthermore, he urged for a comprehensive constitutional amendment to eliminate obstacles hindering the progress and functionality of local governments as outlined in the constitution.
He said, “To achieve this, many experts have proposed that there is need for the scrapping of the state independent electoral commission. Their functions and powers should be transferred to the independent national electoral commission because the state independent electoral commission remains an appendage to every incumbent governor. This is perceived as the root cause of the problem of local government administration in Nigeria.”
Fagbemi’s statement follows his initiation of a lawsuit against the governors at the Supreme Court, representing the Federal Government.
He petitioned the Supreme Court to halt the transfer of local government funds to states and prevent the 36 state governments from dismantling elected local government chairmen and appointing caretaker committees in their place.
