Democratic tenets demand that elections should be conducted as stipulated by the constitution. In Nigeria, elections are held every four years when the tenure of the administration might have ended. This applies to the state governments but the local government elections are at the mercy of the state government.
Though there has been the suggestion that the conduct of local government elections should be undertaken by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure uniformity, this has not materialise yet.
In Akwa Ibom State, there are plans by the state independent electoral commission to conduct the local government elections in for October this year as the tenure of the current local government council chairmen elected in 2017 has since expired.
Though there are many political parties in the country but only two have so far released the timetable for the sale of forms in the state with 31 local government councils and as expected it is only the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) that have done so.
But surprisingly, the fees demanded by PDP for the collection of forms and expression of interest have gone by over 500 percent and this attracted mixed reactions and generated a lot of debate whether the increase was in the best interest of democracy at the third tier government which is supposed to be the government that is closest to the people which in turn should encourage mass participation and be people-centred
However, that of the APC which is the opposition party in the state is comparatively lower and seems to be in contrast to that of the PDP. For the PDP, it is not only the outrageous fees that people are kicking against, it is also the short period assigned for the collection and submission of the forms.
According to the statement by Ini Ememobong, publicity secretary of the PDP who has been cleared to be a member of the state executive council apparently in recognition of his contributions to the party, acknowledged during his confirmation hearing, the sale of forms ends this weekend, July 26 while the screening of all aspirants begins on Monday, July 27.
In a press release made available to the media and titled, ‘Preparatory information for congresses for the nomination of councilors and chairmen of local government councils,’ it stated that the state working committee of the party had issued preparatory information sequel to the proclamation of elections and the publication for local government elections by the Akwa Ibom State Independent Electoral Commission, adding that the information signed by Paul Ekpo, chairman of the party, was in compliance with the provisions of the constitution of the party.
It advised “those seeking to purchase the forms to go to the party secretariat to do so.” The notice on the cost of the forms was signed by the party’s publicity secretary.
Since then, tongues have been wagging and debates and discussions have centered around why the party did not give enough time for the purchase of the forms and what it stands to gain if ‘quality’ aspirants failed to be part of the process due to high cost.
According to observers, if the cost of the form is so exorbitant, it has the tendency to scare many aspirants away giving room for moneybags to sponsor their loyalists and cronies and moreover, the campaigns which are expected to last till end of August would likely take a toll on the finances of the indigent aspirants.
For the aspirants, each of them who wants to be a councilor has to pay N100,000 for expression of interest, cough out N500,000 for nomination form and pay N150,000 for tax clearance, totaling N750,000.
Similarly, chairmanship aspirants are to pay N250,000 for expression of interest, N150,000 for tax clearance and N2,500,000 for the nomination form making a total of N2,900,000.
In sharp contrast, the APC has pegged the amount for collection of the form and expression of interest at N50,000 and N5,000 respectively for councilors and N10,000 and N100,000 as expression of interest and nomination forms accordingly. It says female aspirants are to collect all the forms free of charge.
It is assumed rightly or wrongly that any candidate of the PDP who is successful at the party’s congress ahead of the elections is likely to be elected as winner in the local government polls and this has made many wondering whether the votes would actually count during the elections.
Interestingly, the local government in the state has witnessed lack of development with many of them not being able to renovate the primary schools in the locality nor being able to grade any road leading to rural communities in their areas.
Apart from internal squabbles which have resulted in two local government chairmen in the state being suspended from office over petitions said to have been written by their councilors to the state assembly, the councils have generally been devoid of any activity in terms of physical development.
For instance, a caller on a radio programme recently in Uyo, the state capital, voiced his concerns over the absence of electricity supply in one of the local government councils, saying the situation has remained the same over the years despite repeated elections.
At the national level, when President Muhammadu Buhari signed the executive order granting financial autonomy to the local government councils and the state judiciary, it was seen by many as a deft move to free the third tier of government from the apron strings of governors. This happiness in many circles did not last long.
This was because the governors after a meeting with the President were able to convince him that giving financial autonomy to local government councils was not the best thing to happen now. So, the jubilation which had greeted the decision has since been subdued by despondency.
Certainly, the high cost of obtaining forms for election into local government councils set by PDP in Akwa Ibom state is likely to discourage many of the aspirants and may send a wrong signal to the entrenchment of democracy at the grassroots.
According to a former councilor in Uyo Local Government, Imo Ben many have lost interest because of the high cost of forms, adding that it is worrisome that leaders of the party could wake up to hike the fees up to 500 percent under this depressed economy without any official reason.
“This is why some aspirants and supporters are murmuring in their closets why PDP had to take an unpopular path; channels should be opened to listen to reactions against it so that if there is need for a rethink it should be done to respond to popular opinion,” he said.
Ben is not alone. There are many others who have raised objections against the sad development.
