Nigerians came to terms with the most unsavoury reality of SIECs elections, the States Independent Electoral Commissions across the country are the creations of the 1999 constitution as amended, it would have been possible to have them conduct LG elections without flaws if the constitution itself was to act in accordance with legitimacy. The fact that laws of a political system allow for the existence of an institution does not guarantee the institution unlimited liberty to act in accordance with the image and likeness of a head of a political system.
SIECs may not be acting too differently from its elder sister INEC, just that the power brokers who rely on INEC to get elected or elect who they prefer have some of them stronger than the intentions of their opponents. But in states, it has become obvious that you can’t beat them that hire the Piper.
Our electoral systems, just like other institutions are in collision course with democratic norms, we cannot be better than what we dream of, our dreams are to have unlimited powers. Just like the reason for inventing the doctrine of separation of power, “that those who have absolute power are liable to abuse it.
I have watched, read, and heard the Cross River APC supporters celebrate a victory that wasn’t secured only yesterday, right from the day a state governor gets elected, there is an automatic manifestation of local governments chairmen all coming from his decision, when you get lucky and your name echoes in the governor’s memory as a man with perpendicular loyalty, you are going to become a council boss.
For those who cry blue murder after local government elections because they were shortchanged, are just making their cry more audible because these are cries that have been cried right from day one that your party lost out of governorship. You cannot watch the outcome of a scientific experiment and expect a different result in your laboratory.
As we are meant to understand, the National parliament is preparing a new meal for the next local government elections, not even the INEC as it was, about 25 years ago, but an entirely new institution to take care of local government elections, given the importance of local governments to rural Nigeria.
I know very well that the incoming institution that shall conduct council polls won’t be long before fruition because the chairman of the National parliament is a recent victim of the overuse of powers of a governor, even though he was compensated with a negligible give away.
I sympathize with all Nigerian politicians from all parties across the states whose states are not govern by their political parties. But because there’s hope for tomorrow, I advise that they heal on time and prepare for a better future for local governments in Nigeria.
