Anambra’s forthcoming LG poll shall be a reference case in Nigeria in terms of transparency

Last Monday, the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) announced that the local government election in the state will be held on Saturday, September 28, 2024. The Commission also released the timetable for the election.

This is coming after the bill from the Anambra State House of Assembly for the constitution of ANSIEC was signed into law and members of ANSIEC inaugurated.

ANSIEC has already hit the ground running. Last Thursday, the Commission held an interactive session with the chairmen of political parties and stakeholders in Anambra State in order to sensitize them about the forthcoming local government elections. The Commission used this opportunity to take questions from stakeholders and political parties.

ANSIEC is determined to make a difference in the way local government elections are conducted in Nigeria. By allowing ANSIEC to be fully independent, the state government and house of assembly showed their democratic credentials.

Many have argued that State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) do not have the required autonomy they need and that they were appendages of state governors. This view has also been re-echoed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi. Since the last supreme court judgment – which granted fiscal autonomy to local governments, as it were – there have been calls from various quarters for the abolishment of SIECs and the transfer of the responsibility of conducting local government elections to INEC. Some have even called for the establishment of a new national body to conduct local government elections. (Never mind that the Orosanye Report recommended the reduction of federal government agencies!). In fact, there was a bill sponsored by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East) to create the National Independent Local Government Electoral Commission (NILGEC) as a federal agency to organize, oversee, and conduct elections for the offices of local government chairmen and councilors in all 36 states and the FCT. Sadly, these suggestions will weaken Nigeria’s federal structure. They are also grossly unconstitutional because SIECs derive their power from Section 197 of the constitution. Besides, elections conducted by INEC have also come with their own criticisms.

And this is why ANSIEC is determined to present a case study to show that local government elections can be done with a high level of integrity and transparency. The appointment of very credible individuals into ANSIEC and the provision of adequate funding are part of the processes that have been put in place in order to ensure transparent elections in Anambra State.

Also, one of the good things about the forthcoming local government elections in Anambra is that the political party in power in Anambra is desirous to test an important hypothesis: the nexus between good governance and election results. In a society where politicians induce voters with money, it is important to see how voters who have had roads, primary healthcare centers and schools rehabilitated in their community will react when mischievous politicians try to induce them with money on the election day in order to vote against a government that has provided them with the dividends of democracy. Some school of thought argue that politicians take advantage of the poverty in developing countries to make the electorate vote against parties who have the potentials of transforming their communities.

Apart from the Commission’s mandate to ensure a credible election, it is the duty of the populace to ensure that politicians do not use propaganda and other kinds of mischievous tactics to discredit the forthcoming elections.

This brings to mind the recent comments of Mr. Afam Victor Ogene, the federal house member who represents Ogbaru Federal Constituency on the platform of Labour Party (LP). Mr. Ogene lamented the recent amendment to the Anambra State electoral law which reduced the 60-day time frame for the notice of election to a 30-day time frame. Mr. Ogene further argued that the current ‘short’ notice for the forthcoming local government election would not allow ‘’stakeholders to conduct meaningful consultations, organize primary elections, secure funding, and prepare for the election without government support.’’

Interestingly, this amendment bill was sponsored by both an APGA lawmaker and a PDP lawmaker in the Anambra House of Assembly. This indicated the sense of urgency in the House of Assembly and the need to meet the requirements of the recent pronouncements of the nation’s apex court concerning democratically elected officers at the local government level. Apparently, Mr. Ogene – who claims to be a democrat – does not share this sense of urgency.

In fact, in terms of time frame, the allotted time frame for the forthcoming local government election is enough for any serious political party. Afterall, the former UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak announced the UK’s 4 July 2024 general election on 22 May 2024. This was a 43-day notice. And this period was enough to prepare for elections in the whole of the UK and nobody made the kind of argument Mr. Ogene made in terms of the ‘shortness’ of the time required to ‘’secure funding’’ for the elections. Only political parties that are not on ground would make this kind of argument. Political parties are not supposed to be active only when there are elections.

Anambra State announced its September 28 local government elections on August 12 2024 – a 47-day notice. Besides, the notice given by Anambra State is similar to those that have been given by other states who are desirous of ensuring that local governments are governed by democratically elected officers as soon as possible, especially after the recent supreme court judgement. For example, Adamawa State’s electoral commission announced its July 13 2024 local government election on May 28 2024 – a 46-day notice.

The forthcoming local government election offers Nigerians a perfect opportunity to see the scorecard of the current administration in Anambra State, which has made significant impact in the lives of the people.