The Senate has voted to alter the 1999 Constitution in order to strip the states of power to constitute electoral commissions to conduct local government elections.

The alteration is part of constitutional reforms by the legislature to make local governments become independent of states.

The proposal became the 33rd item of the report on the bill to amend the 1999 Constitution presented by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu on Tuesday.

Mr. Ekweremadu’s report originally had 32 items, including autonomy for local government areas.

But Dino Melaye, APC-Kogi, said allowing states to oversee conducts of local government elections make a mess of the call for autonomy. Instead, Mr. Melaye moved that the Independent National Electoral Commission should conduct the local elections.

“How do we speak of local government autonomy, without addressing the foundation,” argued Mr. Melaye, in seeking states to be stripped of the power to constitute state electoral commissions to conduct local government elections.

Mr. Melaye’s motion was adopted by his colleagues when put to voice vote called by Senate President Bukola Saraki.

Mr. Ekweremadu’s report had only included proposal for democratically elected local councils, which can directly receive allocations from the federation accounts. In effect, the alteration bill seeks to abrogate the state-LG joint account system.

The bill also proposes that no local council should receive allocation except it is democratically constituted.

At the moment, many Nigerian states have caretaker committees in charge at local councils.

The Senate is still in session considering other items in Mr. Ekweremadu’s report on the bill to further amend the Constitution as at the time of filing this report.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/238116-just-senate-wants-inec-conduct-local-govt-elections.html

I dont support such bill, and if i will..there should be a clause such that if you are not an indigene of a state you cannot contest for any local government election.

Are they centralizing or decentralising it? i thought they were clamouring for restructing?

This can encourage free and fair election and reduce electoral fraud, for example in just concluded Lagos LG election that it was politicians that selected lasiec ad hoc staff

Some greedy governors won't like dis

As long as house of assembly members are concerned, this amendments is dead on arrival

mitchew waiting concern me self

toniok:
Are they centralizing or decentralising it? i thought they were clamouring for restructing?

Unfortunately, this is a big blow to those whose idea of restructuring is to devolve more powers to the states and weaken the center.

The reality of the state of things in Nigeria is that we can't afford very big, powerful and uncontrollable states. We still need a strong center to keep everybody in check. Absolute powers to states will be abused absolutely by the larger than life governors. The administration of local government since 1999 is a perfect example.

This is a welcome development ahsway!

kinibigdeal:
I dont support such bill, and if i will..there should be a clause such that if you are not an indigene of a state you cannot contest for any local government election.

Who is an indigene?

Una sef too slow

Anyways a stitch in time...

a law that houses of assembly will throw out

The amended constitution will still have to go to all the 36 State Houses of Assembly and must be passed by at least 24 out of the 36 before it can become law. In essence, this is still a joke because the last amendment was reject by the State Houses of Assembly.

will it make d elections credible?

I think Saraki is doing a lot of good work people aren't seeing. This is an excellent move. Inec should handle every single election within the country, and those emperors called state govs can always lose vital wards during lg elections so they can feel the grevianances of neglected wards