By Ayodele Oni
The Nigeria Senate is set to ensure that the local councils described as the third tier of government are allowed to operate freely like other tiers.
The upper house is also working to curb Governors’ too much power on the councils as well as ensure the democratically elected officials are allowed to run the councils.
To this end, the Red Chamber on Friday urged the federal government to withhold the statutory allocation to local government councils without democratically elected chairmen.
This followed a motion by Senator Abba Moro (Benue South) titled “Urgent Need to halt the erosion of democracy: the dissolution of elected councils in Benue State,” during plenary.
The Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, had sacked the local government chairmen in the state and appointed caretaker committees for the local government councils.
The Red Chamber condemned the arbitrary dissolution of democratically elected local government councils in Benue and other states in Nigeria and urged the Benue State governor to adhere to his oath of office, obey the rule of law and defend the constitution.
Moro, in his motion, said placing caretaker committees to replace elected councils was an aberration and alien to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
Moro, quoting Section (1) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees a system of local government by democratically elected councils, said the law placed the responsibility on every state to ensure the existence of local government councils.
He noted that there were subsisting court rulings directing the governor, the House of Assembly, their agents, privies not to tamper with the tenure of the elected councils.
He said neither the governor nor the state government had appealed these judgments.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North) said about 16 states in Nigeria are currently without democratically elected council officials
He said the Senate should direct the Finance Minister to stop funding local government without elected council officials. The suggestion was supported by Senator Ali Ndume.
Abdulfatai Buhari (Oyo North) said the Electoral Act should be amended to empower the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct local government elections.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio frowned at the establishment of multiple federal agencies, but advocated the creation of the National Electoral Commission for Local Government so that governors would no longer have overbearing influence on council polls.
