Stakeholders on Friday, called for constitutional reforms to empower the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct local government elections.

They made the call at a forum organised by the Change We Need Nigeria Initiative in Abuja.

The participants said such move would help to ensure independence of the elected chairmen and make them to be more accountable to the people.

Kolawole Banwo, head of advocacy, policy and communications for WaterAid, said that joint state–local government accounts and excessive control by governors had crippled the financial independence of local councils.

Mr Banwo called for reforms that would guarantee democratically elected councils, secure four-year tenure and direct access to federal allocations in line with the Supreme Court judgment. He, therefore, called for the law that would give INEC the power to conduct elections at the local government level.

“If INEC conducts election, because at that level, vested interest is less than when you have a State Independent Electoral Commission, accountability will be ensured,” said Mr Banwo. “Though this may not be perfect, but the fact that the governor cannot call the INEC chair and tell him who should win an election already reduces the tendency, unlike a chairman that he appointed for the body.”

He said this would ensure the independence of the institution.

Esther Audu, former chairwoman of Abuja Municipal Area Council, backed the recommendation that the electoral umpire should be empowered to conduct local government polls.

“If the election is left for the state government, they will have influence on who comes in, instead of the people having influence on who comes in to serve them. INEC should be allowed to conduct elections at local, state and national levels,” she said.

Sam Amadi, the director of Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, called for a citizen-led reform of Nigeria’s local government system. He argued that while the recent Supreme Court judgment on local government autonomy has reignited a national debate, the focus must shift from legal reforms to rebuilding civic accountability and democratic participation at the local level.

Aliyu Kankara, the president-general of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, said if the local government autonomy is fully implemented, all the challenges facing people at the grassroots would be addressed.

The convener of the forum, Cosmos Ilechukwu, said that the Supreme Court judgment in favour of local government autonomy was a welcome development. Mr Ilechukwu,called on the political leaders at the federal and state levels to implement it for nation building.

According to him, real progress depends on the political will of leaders at both the federal and state levels to implement it.

He explained that local government is the tier of government closest to the people and most essential for everyday development, from clean water and functional schools to organised markets and community infrastructure.

(NAN)