BREAKING: “State Electoral Commissions Should Be Abolished,” Declares AGF Fagbemi
Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, has advocated for the elimination of State Electoral Commissions, labeling them as major obstacles to the progress of local governments.
Speaking at a one-day discussion on “Nigeria’s Security Challenges and Good Governance at the Local Government Levels,” organized by the House of Representatives in Abuja on Monday, Fagbemi criticized the current structure. He argued that state governors exploit constitutional loopholes to undermine local government autonomy, referencing sections of the 1999 Constitution, such as Section 7(1), Section 83(3), and Section 7(5), which he claims are used to exert undue control over local governments.
“Governors have taken advantage of the flaws in certain sections of the 1999 Constitution to weaken and render local governments ineffective,” Fagbemi stated.
He accused state governors of manipulating State Electoral Commissions to impose leaders at the local level through rigged elections, often preferring caretaker committees over elected officials.
“The most egregious abuse of local government occurs when state electoral commissions are used to impose leaders through fraudulent elections,” Fagbemi asserted. “Most governors appoint caretaker leadership in their local governments, depriving grassroots communities of effective representation.”
To resolve these issues, Fagbemi called for a comprehensive constitutional amendment to eliminate barriers to local government development. He suggested transferring the functions of state electoral commissions to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure more impartial and credible local elections.
“Many experts propose that the state independent electoral commission should be abolished, and their functions transferred to the Independent National Electoral Commission,” Fagbemi said. “The state independent electoral commission remains an appendage of incumbent governors, which is seen as the root cause of the problems in local government administration in Nigeria.”
Fagbemi’s comments come in the wake of legal action he initiated at the Supreme Court on behalf of the Federal Government. The suit aims to stop the remittance of local government funds to state governments and to prevent the replacement of elected local government chairmen with caretaker committees.
