Local Government Elections And Its Impact On Grassroots Development | Irekeola Muhammed Adedayo Mfr

In lieu of the local government reform policy of 1976 put in place by the then military administration just to ensure firm establishment of local government authorities in the coming republic of 1979 to be with all seriousness administered by the second republic prospective administrators being the independent third tier of government created purposely to bring government nearer to the people in rural areas and above all to enhance grassroots political participation throughout the federation.

Relieving both the federal and state governments from over – saddled tasks of administrative responsibilities can not in anyway be de-emphasized or removed as one of the reasons for the creation of the local government authorities nationwide. As pronounced by the section 7 of the 1999 Nigerian democratic constitution, the local government’s chairmen will be duly elected with their cabinet members to paddle the canoe of the local administration for a fixed tenure of office which has been contravened by the politicians in years gone by due to their fright of losing their acclaimed political territories coupled with being politically dead and irrelevant in the system if probably they loose to the opposition.

Local government elections are expected to be emblemised by capable qualified bodies of electioneers’ who hitherto are now being influenced by the rulling party and their efforts been jeopardized leading to the absolute deprivation of the citizens her right to elect and be elected – hence are disenfranchised which is in contrary to the provision of the 1999 Nigerian constitution. A case study of Lagos state can be cited as prior example whereby since the year 2003 no local government elections were held in all the 20 local government areas and the supplemented 37 local council development areas established and financed by the state government as the LCDAs were not accorded recognition and endorsement of the National Assembly but the supreme court judgment ruled the creation valid but inchoate.

This has long been destabilizing the grassroots partial participation and empowering the leprosy of political apathy to be festering. The state continue setting up transitional unelected council to manage the affairs of the local politics and governance without executive power so as to keep them in pocket and subject them to absolute subordination.

Lack of this real executive power by the transition chairmen has been constituting setbacks, under development and other political predicaments in which the chairmen are not able to act according to the will of the constitution and to meet up with the desire of the citizens in their areas of jurisdiction. However, Gov. Babatunde Raji Fashola conducted the local government elections in the earlier period of his second tenure October, 2011 whereby prospective councilors were promising to improve deplorable roads and other dilapidated infrastructural facilities as the election was attributed by voter apathy.

The polls credibility was challenged by the opposition on how the rulling party won all the 57 seats. But, later discovered governor’s support as the prerequisite for winning the election. This expired in the late hour of Fashola’s administration in the year 2014. And, newly elected governor wasn’t able to fulfill his promise of conducting local government election till the end of his tenure.

The system of appointing the local government chairmen instead of electing them has been giving derogatory and negative impact on the grassroots politics across the nation. This brought about falling and diminishing of the economic growth, social amenities as most of the elected governors do not in due time appoint nor organize elections for the local governments and if the necessity arise, they will rather delay the appointment just to meet their political desires and ends of their loyalists at the detriment of the citizens franchise. Up till the present moment things remain topsy – turvy not as they used to be in the past political dispensations talking of economy and other developments in local areas and politics and as a result, apolitical grows feather.

Conclusively, Oyo state can also be referred to as one of the places involved.
During the immediate past administration of Gov. Ajimobi, though local government election was conducted at the eve of his departure, no proper measures were put in place to ensure the election is conducted according to the provision of the constitution. No strict opposition, no preparation. The election was influenced with the power of incumbency of the governor; it was less democratically conducted.

I hereby implore the present governor of Oyo state in the forthcoming local government election to ensure that it is democratically and constitutionally conducted without political influence and interference of political dignitaries in the state and let the dream of grassroots political participation be actualized. And, I also implore His Excellency to widen the modern political participation by incorporating the youth in his political appointments in order to make the flaw of the past administration covered in that area.