The sweeping victory of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the December 2, 2017 local government election in Akwa Ibom State once again drew public attention to the partiality of state independent electoral commissions (SIECS) as presently constituted, a situation that continues to guarantee victory for the party of the sitting governor in council elections across the states irrespective of the strength of the opposition party in each state.
In the results announced by Aniedi Ikoiwak, chairman, Akwa Ibom State Independent Electoral Commission, the ruling PDP won all the seats in the 31 local government areas and 329 councillorship wards in the state.
Ikoiwak said the election, which was contested by 12 political parties, was conducted in line with relevant laws, even as the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state rejected the results of the elections, citing the commission’s lack of independence.
On social media, the Akwa Ibom elections also rekindled the old debate as to whether SIECs should continue to hold local government elections or the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be allowed to step in.
Following the announcement of the result, Steve Osuji, veteran journalist and member, Editorial Board, The Nation, posted on his Facebook wall that it was a big shame that “a governor conducts election, steals every vote and shamelessly posts result”.
Responding, Sakiru Raji, media manager at Rosabel Limited, said, “Local government elections under SIEC as presently constituted can never be won by opposition, however popular the candidate is.”
Another commenter, Tunde Ipinmisho, added that local government elections in all the states have followed a similar pattern irrespective of the party in power.
“That is the malady with the system we run. Those complaining about Akwa Ibom will do or have done same in Enugu, Kwara, Yobe, etc,” Ipinmisho said.
BDSUNDAY checks confirmed that in most of the local government elections across the country, the party that the state governor belongs to has always swept all the seats.
A disturbing trend
As far back as August 7, 2010, the Imo State government under Governor Ikedi Ohakim organised local government elections in the state after several years of preparation. When the results were announced, PDP, the ruling party in the state, won the chairmanship seats in all the 27 local government areas as well as all the councillorship seats in the 305 electoral wards in the state.
Even though the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) claimed that a total of 20 political parties participated in the election, in reality, only PDP actually fielded candidates for the chairmanship seat in most of the local government councils.
A PDP stalwart in Delta State recently told BDSUNDAY that a similar scenario will play out in Delta State whenever the state held its local council elections.
“It is expected. Delta is a staunch PDP state. LGA polls will soon be held in Delta too. Expect the same thing too. Can you empower your enemy?” he said.
On October 5, 2013, PDP won all the chairmanship and councillorship seats in the 13 local government areas of Ebonyi State.
Even though the election was boycotted by all the other political parties, the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission said the poll was “free, fair, devoid of violence and other forms of irregularities”.
John Nkwuda, chairman of the commission, said APC had fielded a candidate for the chairmanship seat of Ezza South Local Government, while APGA had a councillorship candidate in Nsokara ward of the same council.
Kwara State held local government elections on October 26, 2013 in which PDP, the party at the helm of affairs in the state then, swept all the 15 chairmanship and 181 councillorship seats in the state.
Labour Party (LP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP), which also participated in the election, did not score any vote in the election, according to results announced by Uthman Ajidagba, chairman of the state Independent Electoral Commission.
On May 23, 2015, a few days before he was due to hand over power to the current Governor Nyesom Wike in Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, current minister of transportation, hurriedly conducted local government elections in the state in which APC won all the chairmanship seats in the 22 local government areas where elections held and 297 out of 302 councillorship seats, leaving the rest of the political parties to scramble for the leftovers. There was no election in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area because election was held in the council in 2014.
The PDP boycotted the election, citing court injunction which ordered that status quo be maintained.
In the December 19, 2015 local government elections in Ekiti, which was boycotted by the APC in the state, the ruling PDP won all the 16 chairmanship seats and 177 councillorship seats.
The APC had alleged that the process was not credible, describing the exercise as a mockery of democratic election.
In the local government elections held in Sokoto on March 12, 2016, the APC won all the chairmanship and councillorship seats.
Usman Abubakar, chairman, Sokoto State Independent Electoral Commission, who announced that APC won all the 22 chairmanship seats and 234 councillorship seats in the state, described the poll as “free, fair and credible”.
Similarly, the APC won all the 14 chairmanship positions in the January 2, 2016 local council elections held in Zamfara State. Even though Garba Muhammad, chairman of Zamfara State Independent Electoral Commission (ZSIEC), had claimed that 14 political parties, including PDP, participated in the election, PDP had on eve of the election announced, in a statement signed by its state chairman, Hassan Nasiha, that it was boycotting the election.
In Abia State, PDP took all 17 chairmanship positions in the local government elections held on December 21, 2016, according to official results announced by the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission. It was the first time local government elections would hold the state in eight years.
In Benue State, the APC swept all the seats in the local government elections held in the state on June 3, 2017.
According to results announced by the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission on June 4, APC won all the 23 local government chairmanship seats and all the councillorship positions, with some of the candidates returned unopposed.
John Tsuwa, the BSIEC chairman, who claimed that eight political parties participated in the election, declined to release details of votes scored by the candidates.
The APC also won in all the 20 local government areas and the 37 local council development areas of Lagos State in the council elections held on July 22, 2017. The party also won all the councillorship seats.
In spite of claims by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode that the local government elections were held “to enhance democracy in the country” and to engender participatory governance and revive belief in the electoral process at the third tier of government, opposition parties cried out that the electoral process was entirely flawed.
“I am happy that this election is coming at my own time. The whole idea is for us to evolve a process where the citizens come out and believe in a process that is credible,” Ambode had said.
“When the people see credible election at the local government level, they will be excited to participate because they know that it is credible, peaceful and without violence. That is what we have been preaching. Lagos is too cosmopolitan for us not to have a credible election,” he had said.
The PDP won all positions contested for in the November 4, 2017 local council elections in Enugu State.
PDP candidates won the chairmanship positions in all the 17 local government areas in the state as well as all the councillorship seats in the 258 electoral wards declared by the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission. Election did not hold in two electoral wards.
But the APC in the state rejected the results, with Ben Nwoye, APC chairman in the state, described the polls as “a sham” as “there was no result sheet in all the polling units”. The list is not exhaustive.
A few exceptions
Perhaps a semblance of a democratic election was seen in the Anambra State local government elections of January 11, 2014. Although the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) cleared all 20 chairmanship seats in the local government areas where elections were held (elections were not held in Nnewi North Local Government Area due to the late arrival of materials) as well as 304 councillorship seats out of the 327 wards in the state, it left some for other political parties, unlike in all the cases highlighted above.
PDP won 12 councillorship seats, while the Progressives People’s Alliance (PPA) and United Progressives Party (UPP) secured one councillorship seat each, according to Sylvester Okonkwo, acting chairman, Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission.
“That other political parties got pockets of victories show that there is democracy in Anambra,” said Mike Kwentor, chairman of APGA in the state at the time.
“Grassroots democracy is the election of villagers and commoners, so depending on the credibility of the candidate, villagers voted their choice,” he said.
Similarly, the council election held in the Federal Capital Territory on April 9, 2016, with re-run polls in some areas on April 13, 2016 showed some modicum of democratic norms as APC produced 43 councillors, PDP produced 14, while APGA produced five councillors.
APC also won the chairmanship seats in AMAC, Kuje, Kwali, Bwari and Abaji council areas, while APGA won in Gwagwalada. PDP won no seat.
Analysts say this was so perhaps because the election in the FCT was conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
A failed attempt to change the status quo
In July 2017, the Senate moved to strip state governments of the power to control polls at the grassroots and to guarantee democratically constituted local government councils through elections to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Following the constitutional amendment report submitted to it, the Senate reasoned that because of the tendency for SIECs to kowtow to governments in power in the states, only INEC could conduct free, fair and credible elections at the local government areas.
As it is, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigerian empowers the states to constitute state independent electoral commissions for the conduct of local government elections. However, in most of the states, the governors have either preferred the use of appointed caretaker committees or have held kangaroo elections in which only the party in power wins all the available seats, with the opposition kicking.
The Senate sought to alter the constitution to abrogate SIECs and give INEC further powers to conduct local council polls.
The matter, which became the 33rd item on the Fourth Constitution Alteration Bill passed by the Senate, was added following a motion by Dino Melaye, senator representing Kogi West Senatorial district.
Melaye emphasized that autonomy of local governments was sacrosanct, canvassing that there could only be fairness if elections into councils were handled by INEC.
“Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, it was obvious that at the state level, governors sit down in the comfort of their offices to appoint local government chairmen and so there was no fairness,” Melaye said.
“I am glad that past governors who are here have supported this suggestion. I, therefore, ask that the amendment be carried,” he said.
The Senate voted in support of the proposal, among other ones intended to ensure autonomy for the LGAs, with Senate President Bukola Saraki upholding that the responsibility of conducting local government elections be taken away from the state to and given to INEC.
When the bill got to the House of Representatives, however, the House rejected the bill.
Though the proposal won the popular vote in the House, with 229 against 59, it did not succeed as it could not secure the required two-thirds, or 240 votes.
CHUKS OLUIGBO
