A non-governmental organisation, Yiaga Africa has said local government administration in Nigeria must be more transparent and open to scrutiny.

Yiaga Africa focuses on promoting democratic governance, human rights and civic engagement.

The group’s Director of Programmes, Cynthia Mbamalu, said this on Tuesday in Kaduna at an advocacy roundtable on legislative reform for improved local government elections in Kaduna State.

According to Ms Mbamalu, transparency in local government administration will enable citizens to demand accountability in everyday governance and at election time effectively.

She added that civil society organisations such as human and socio-economic rights groups should help develop robust accountability processes/mechanisms and play watchdog roles.

In collaboration with local government bodies, Ms Mbamalu said civil society organisations should educate and sensitize citizens to the responsibilities of elected local government officials and citizens’ role in local governance.

She explained that such education/sensitisation programmes should also reorient the electorate toward making demands for collective or community goods rather than personalised demands on elected local leaders.

Speaking further, the director said besides the composition, finance, and functions of local government councils, it should be prescribed by
act of the National Assembly.

“Matters such as the creation of local government may be left to states subject to minimum criteria as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly. These measures will minimise the manipulation of local governments by the executive and legislative organs of the state government. Lack of accountability and undue interference by state governors and legislators inhibit the responsiveness of local councils to their communities and people,” Ms Mbamalu said.

She also noted a rapidly increasing technology deployment in the Nigerian electoral process to enhance accountability and integrity.

Ms Mbamalu, however, said the experience of adjustment to the use of modern technology in electoral systems was still mainly limited to the national level.

She, therefore, called for the future electoral reforms to address the use of technology to run LG elections, as was the case in Kaduna State.

According to Ms Mbamalu, this could make the processes and outcomes of elections less cumbersome for the state independent electoral commissions.

Also, she said the CSOs in Nigeria were increasingly acknowledged as watchdogs, maintaining vigilance over the electoral process.

She acknowledged that the CSOs monitoring ensured that election activities were transparent and actively engaged in advocacy for electoral reform.

Ms Mbamalu said that a few were interested in reforming the structures and processes of LG elections.

“Even where there is interest, they lack the necessary capacity. This warrants the design of systematic capacity-building programmes. However, to be knowledge-driven, effective, and impactful, civil society actors must be sensitised, mobilised, trained and adequately equipped with the necessary tools to engage actively,” she said.

Ms Mbamalu explained that the engagement would examine the state
of local government elections in Nigeria, beginning with the legal and institutional framework.

She added that attention was drawn to the trends in local government elections, the challenges identified, and critical recommendations for improving the quality of local government elections in Nigeria.

Earlier in a welcome address, a member of Yiaga Africa Working Group, Dr. Asmau Maikudi, described the local government system as a core institution in Nigeria’s governing structure.

According to her, how an electoral system operates goes a long way in determining the degree of public confidence and support for the democratic system.

Citing some antecedents, Ms Maikudi said under some conditions, the local government cannot claim legitimacy.

She lamented that the seeming failure of the legitimacy test by the local governments in Nigeria raised questions about the democratic
credentials of the LGAs.

“And even their claim of being democratically elected despite the constitutional provisions that guarantee democratically elected local governments. Local government elections, among other things, are expected to confer legitimacy and create a conducive environment for accountable and effective local government in Nigeria,” Ms Maikudi said.

Also, the Secretary to the Kaduna State Government, Dr Abdulkadir Maiyere, acknowledged the contributions of Yiaga Africa to democracy.

Mr Maiyere, represented by Ibrahim Sambo, said that Kaduna State Government was the first to use electronic voting in LG elections.

He restated the state government’s commitment to upholding the tenets of democracy.

The stakeholders at the event included representatives of prominent political parties, CSOs, legislature and the state’s electoral commission, among others.

(NAN)