LG Autonomy: 13 States Rush To Conduct Council Election (See List)
Following last Thursday’s Supreme Court judgement which prohibited federal allocation to council being administered by caretaker committees, some states have moved to conduct Local Government elections as soon as possible.
The Supreme Court had declared it unconstitutional for state governors to hold funds allocated for the local government councils.
In the judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the seven-man panel held that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves.
The court delivered the landmark judgment in suit: SC/CV/343/2024, filed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) against the 36 state governors.
The court further declared that a state government had no power to appoint a caretaker committee and a local government council was only recognisable with a democratically elected government.
According to The Punch, the states that have commenced preparation for the council poll include Kaduna, Kogi, Bauchi, Katsina, Osun, Enugu, Benue, Rivers, Jigawa, Imo, Kebbi, Abia, and Anambra states.
While some states, including Osun, had earlier announced that for the poll prior to the Supreme Court judgement, others swung into action in the aftermath of the judgment.
The Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission, on Tuesday, announced that the council poll will hold on October 19, 2024.
Announcing the date for the council poll at a meeting with political parties and other stakeholders on Tuesday, the Kaduna SIECOM Chairperson, Hajara Mohammed, explained that the current council officials members were sworn into office on November 1, 2021, and would end their three-year tenure on October 31, 2024.
She said, “The current council members were sworn into office on 1 November 2021 and will end their three-year tenure on 31 October. KAD-SIECOM is responsible for organising the elections of chairpersons, vice-chairpersons, and councillors in the state.
“In consonance with the provision of section 25(1) of the KAD-SIECOM Law 2024, the general public is hereby informed that the LGA council election will be held in Kaduna on Saturday, 19th October 2024, between 8 am and 4 pm
“The commission issues the election timetable today, Tuesday 16th July 2024. The 2024 election guidelines have been released with the election timetable KAD-SIECOM is ready to conduct the election on the set date.”
Similarly, the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission also announced October 19 for the local government election across the state.
The Chairman of the electoral commission, Mamman Eri, while addressing stakeholders in the state on Tuesday, said the decision was in line with the provision of the Constitution and the powers vested in the state Independent Electoral Commission.
He explained that a comprehensive timetable and schedule of activities had been prepared to ensure a transparent, fair and credible electoral process.
“We assure you that these activities have been designed with utmost consideration for inclusivity, transparency and adherence to electoral laws,’’ he said.
Also, the Bauchi State Independent Electoral Commission has fixed August 19 for the local government elections in the state.
The Chairman of the commission, Alhaji Ahmad Makama, who disclosed this at a news conference on Tuesday in Bauchi, said all necessary arrangements had been concluded to ensure free and fair elections.
It was learnt that Katsina, Kebbi, and Benue have also set machinery in motion to conduct the local council polls.
The exercise will take place in Enugu on October 5, while Benue will conduct the council poll on November 16.
Others are Kebbi, August 31; Rivers, October 5; Kwara and Imo, September 21.
