‘It’s unnecessary’ — IPAC kicks against bill to establish electoral commission for LGs

The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has kicked against a bill to establish the Local Government Independent Electoral Commission.

The bill, which was read for the first time on Thursday, was sponsored by Sani Musa, the senator representing Niger east.

The proposed legislation was introduced about a week after the supreme court ordered the federal government to pay allocations directly to local government councils from the federation account.

The apex court held that state governments have continued to abuse their powers by retaining and using the funds meant for LGAs.

The court also ordered the federal government to withhold allocations of LGAs that are governed by unelected officials appointed by governors.

In a statement on Friday, Chinyere Ogekalu, the IPAC secretary, said the move to create the LG electoral commission is “unacceptable and unnecessary”.

The IPAC secretary added that it will “lead to duplication of functions and waste of public funds”.

“Creating another commission will not address the challenges faced in conducting local government elections. Instead, it will lead to unnecessary duplication of efforts and resources,” the statement reads.

“The proposed commission will still rely on INEC’s voter register, IREV, BVAS, ballot boxes, and other resources to conduct a successful election.”

Ogekalu said the senate should “focus on building the capacity of INEC to conduct free, fair, and transparent elections at the local level”.

“This is especially crucial at a time when the government is grappling with limited resources to cater to the welfare of citizens,” IPAC said.

Ogekalu asked the senate to “reconsider this proposed bill and prioritise the strengthening of INEC to deliver credible elections at all levels”.