Chief Otse Otokpa won the 1998 local government elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and became the Chairman of Ado Local Government Area of Benue State. He says the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should conduct local government elections while reminiscing on how he won his election in 1998, on the platform of the All Peoples’ Party (APP).
What’s your view on the agitation from various quarters that INEC, rather than SIECs should conduct local government elections?
It is good that the federal body conducts elections in the local government elections. The problem we have now is actually in the Constitution, because Section 197 subsection 1B provides for States Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) and we see what is happening where the ruling party at the state level wins all elective seats from councilor to chairman.
As it is, there are no campaigns for any office at the local government level. The campaign is in the governor’s office and once the candidates sail through, their names are written down and the State Independent Electoral Commission simply endorses the list. So, it is completely a quasi-democracy because democracy implies people participating freely in an electoral process by all the parties. But as it is now, there is nothing like that. It’s the party that rules the state that controls the system. It will be nice for the federal body to conduct elections into the local government offices because that level is the most important structure of government as that is where the people really reside. Therefore, not having the local government elections means that things are out of control as the local governments are supposed to service the local communities, bringing the communities closer to the people. As it is now, the local government system has completely collapsed. So I support the idea that the federal government should conduct elections at local government level.
Can you recall how the process was at your time when INEC conducted the election?
It was in 1998. That time I ran under APP as it was then before it later became ANPP. The councils under APP then, included myself in Ado LGA; Tony Robert in Ogbadibo; Mike Inalegwu in Agatu; Charles Torgbunde in Guma and Gbunde Tofi from Buruku Local Government Area, while the rest were PDP. That’s the much I can remember, but we were freely elected.
Now, there’s nothing like local government system in this country, but the problem is with the Constitution. So long as that Section 179 subsection 1B remains in place stating that SIEC should conduct elections, there can’t be free and fair elections. This is because the chairman of SIEC is appointed by the state government. Now, when you have a commissioner serving under a state governor, they will say this is zoned to my place, give it to me. In fact, the offices are shared from the state government corridor. So SIEC will simply endorse what is shared. But it wasn’t so during my time; I was APP in a PDP controlled state and the then Secretary of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON). We worked hard to earn that position.
Was the LG allocation paid directly to the LG account at that time?
There can’t be government without money. Our cheques were coming straight from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at that time. We were given CBN cheques and the money was paid directly to the local government account. When we came to the state capital, Makurdi for JAAC, we only came to discuss issues that state and local government could finance jointly. But our money came directly to us and we did whatever we wanted with it as discussed by the council. What President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done with the issue is the best thing, but there is a lacuna. The lacuna is that the decision of the Supreme Court cannot be superior to the Nigerian constitution because Section 1 subsection 1 of the constitution stated that the constitution is supreme, but the same constitution in Section 7 subsection 1 indicated that there must be democratically elected system and when you go to Section 167 subsection 5, it states that the local government money must be paid into the state account. So, by the time you paid money into the state government’s joint account and it comes to the joint account which Section 162 subsection 2 of the constitution states, the money is simply going back so the local government is no longer a system but completely under the state government and that’s why things don’t work. Now, no local government can do a simple contract; if they want to do a simple culvert, they will have to go to the state level. As at now, the local government system is just an appendage of the state. In fact, the adviser on Bureau of LG is even more important than the deputy governor in all the states of the country because they control the chairmen.
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Do you think that the system then was better?
It’s better by far. Like the Dasuki reform that brought about the local government indicates that the system is the government for the people at the grassroots and has nothing to do with the state. So the federal government has to send money directly to the grassroots to use to develop the grassroots, to build the markets, to develop the clinics and do feeder roads and maintain security at the local level. In my tenure, I made the chiefs a part of my decision making body. Whenever the money came, I had meetings with my councilors and had to invite the chiefs – the traditional council rulers – then we discussed; then we got to the security committee meeting and money was disbursed at the local government levels. It did not have to get to the state. Now, the governor calls the chairman, discusses whatever he wants, gives the chairman a little thing to run the system and the rest stays there. So, it is a major problem and it is worse now because local government workers are paid from the state level as everybody has an account. The people don’t need to go to work as at the end of the day, they simply get an alert. If you go to the local government councils, you won’t see anybody there and if you see people, it is whenever the chairman is around or maybe in the finance department when they are going for revenue. But during my time, workers signed attendance list everyday; even those in the field -agric department and works – we had their records. People had to come to work. The best thing is, let the money go to local government, while the federal government conducts the elections.
Do you have any concerns with the Supreme Court judgment?
I’m not a lawyer, but it seems that the Supreme Court judgment must be reviewed and it should consider the removal of Section 197, Subsection 1B from the constitution. As long as that section exists, it is unconstitutional to attain absolute freedom for the councils. Once it is removed, the issue of the JAC will be resolved automatically. But as it is now, I believe that if the governors challenge this in court, the Supreme Court may be forced to rescind its decision. Therefore, I suggest that Section 197 be reviewed first, allowing for subsequent actions. Currently, the governors have full control. According to the constitution, the funds must be paid to the states unless that section is repealed. That’s the crux of the issue.
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