From Atiku Sarki, Abuja.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called on the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) to stop the coronation of candidates and conducts proper elections in Local Governments.
According to INEC, the conduct of Local Government Elections in virtually all the states of the federation has become mere coronation of candidates of the ruling parties, warning that it is time to stop the coronation and conduct proper elections.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu made the call when the executive members of the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commission (FOSIECOM) paid a courtesy call to the INEC Head Quarters in Abuja, yesterday.
He said that governors in the state should the SIECs to have greater capacity for independent action.
He noted that many of the SIECs have no functional offices in the Local Government Areas in their states and cannot recruit permanent staff.
In some states he said SIECs are either not properly constituted and have no security of tenure or their critical functions have been taken over by the government officials.
Prof. Mahmood further observed that some SIECs are only constituted on the eve of elections and dissolved thereafter.
“They are severely under-resourced to the extent that some of them rely on INEC even for basic facilities such as ballot boxes and voting cubicles.
“Consequently, many Nigerians mistake the SIECs for INEC. Indeed, even some of the stakeholders, including candidates for Local Government elections, call them state INEC. This situation has forced us to reconsider some aspects of our relationship with the SIECs. Our support is now largely restricted by the voters register to be provided by the constitution.
“INEC cannot shoulder its own extensive responsibilities and at the same time extend almost limitless support to other independent electoral commissions for elections outside our mandate across the country from our lean federal budget”, he further explained.
The INEC Chairman appealed to the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commission (FOSIECOM) to take the bull by the horns to operate according to legal and financial constraints.
Saying that their independence does not necessarily draw from statutory or financial provision alone but encouraged them to discharge their obligation to protect the integrity and credibility of elections which he said is the most important determinant of success.
Earlier in his remarks, the National Chairman of FOSIECOM, Chief Jossy Chibundu Eze on behalf of the forum had congratulated the INEC Chairman and his team on the successful conduct of the 2023 General Elections and other subsequent Off-Cycle Elections.
He told him that the forum and INEC have a long standing MoU which he said has propelled their relationship.
He believed that the MoU needs urgent review to make it more functional and effective in the face of changing electoral needs, challenges and expectations.
