CASTRATING DEMOCRACY AT THE ROOTS

Reviving democracy at the local level requires a legislative lifeline, writes Bolaji Adebiyi

Without a doubt, the most significant fraud in the country today is something called local council elections. Conducted by State Independent Electoral Commissions, the outcome has become predictable as the ruling parties’ candidates are sure to win. The pattern is the same. Empowered by the 1999 Constitution as altered, the state governor appoints the chairman and members of the electoral body, which proceeds to hold an election in which all the candidates of his party are returned elected.

Until 11 July 2024, this sham was a luxury in many states. Governors composed electoral commissions that did nothing. They dissolved the council officials appointed by their predecessors and appointed their cronies, contrary to Section 7 of the Constitution, which guarantees democracy at the grassroots. As of that date, only 15 of the 36 states and the FCT were governed by elected leaders.

However, following a suit filed by the federal government against the 36 state governments, the Supreme Court ruled that it was not only unconstitutional for the councils to be governed by caretakers but also unlawful for the Federation Account’s funds to be disbursed to interim administrators.

“An order of injunction is hereby granted restraining the defendants from collecting funds belonging to the local government councils when no democratically elected local government councils are in place,” said Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the unanimous decision of the seven-man panel. The judgment took the wind out of the sail of governors who had used federally generated funds to finance their illegal contraptions. The governors’ response was to pour cold water on public excitement over the famous judgment as they began to organise fake elections at the councils.

Since the apex court judgment, 11 states have conducted elections at the council level, bringing the number of democratically elected councils to 26. In all these 26, the ruling parties held sway. The ruling party at the centre, the All Progressive Congress, swept the polls, winning all the available chairmanship and councillorship seats in its Sokoto, Kebbi, Kwara, Imo, Ebonyi, and Benue states. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party picked up all seats in its Akwa-Ibom, Enugu and Bauchi-controlled states. The All Progressives Grand Alliance scored 100 per cent in the 21 local councils of its controlled Anambra State.

The only exception was Rivers State, where an unknown quantity, the Action Peoples Party, won 32 of 33 councils in the state. There was no significant departure from the shambolism, though. The party was backed by Siminalayi Fubara, the state governor, whose quarrel with his erstwhile godfather, Nyesom Wike, split the dominant PDP down the middle, forcing the incumbent to move his supporters to a shell party for the electoral contest.

Understandably, this bastardisation of the Supreme Court judgment and caricature of democracy has generated angry reactions, with many Nigerians making the case for a constitutional amendment that will delete state electoral commissions and transfer their responsibilities to the Independent National Electoral Commission. The protagonists correctly argue that the governors have demonstrated that they cannot conduct free and fair elections, contending that for democracy to be revived and thrive at the local level, an independent body will have to conduct the polls. A bill seeking to amend the Constitution to that effect is being debated at the National Assembly.

No doubt, there is merit in the protagonists’ case. Though not without challenges, elections conducted by the federally composed INEC tended to be more credible. For instance, the outcomes of FCT council polls conducted by INEC have been very competitive with the major parties, APC and PDP, splitting victory irrespective of the party at the centre. In the keenly contested April council polls, the APC won five seats, leaving one for the APGA. Unlike the polls in the states, where ruling parties win by more than 90 per cent, the margin of win in the federal capital is around 47 per cent.

However, as the Yoruba will say, you do not cure a headache by cutting off the head. For years, Nigerians have clamoured for constitutional reforms that will deepen federalism in the country. They want more powers ceded to the sub-nationals from the centre because that is where the citizens are. Perhaps this is why the Supreme Court’s judgment granting financial autonomy to local councils has been well-received by the generality of the people. So, moving sub-national responsibilities to the national because of abuse only undermines the quest for structural reform of the nation’s federalism.

Rather than moving the electoral responsibility to the exclusive list, identifying and curing the current mischief will be more helpful. The Constitution guarantees the independence of the electoral management agencies. The prevailing challenge is the abuse of the grundnorm by state governors who have become law on to themselves. Therefore, the way forward is for the federal legislature to plug the loopholes that are being exploited. Like the issue of local council autonomy, this may be a hard nut to crack because the governors may filibuster the bill for the required amendment.

If this happens, the federal government will have to return to the council autonomy template, in which it resorted to judicial resolution when legislative remedies failed. S162 (6) of the Constitution provides for the establishment of a State Joint Local Account into which Federation Account funds meant for the councils are paid for disbursement to them by the states. Recognising the wanton abuse of this provision by the governors, the apex court said, “Demand of justice requires a progressive interpretation of the law.”

Hear Justice Agim, “It is the position of this court that the federation can pay local government allocations directly to the local governments or through the states. In this case, since paying them through the states has not worked, justice demands that local government allocations from the federation account should henceforth be paid directly to the local government. I hold that the states’ retention of local government funds is unconstitutional.”

Indeed, this will be a legitimate option for democracy’s survival at the grassroots.

Adebiyi is the media aide to the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu