Why I will not set up transition committees – Okowa

Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has said that setting up transition committees for local government councils is unconstitutional and will not be allowed under his administration.
The governor spoke when he received report of the 2014 local government elections from the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC).
He said, “if it is unconstitutional and unacceptable at the state and federal levels, why should it be accepted at the third tier of government? I believe that the law specifically states that democratically elected local government councils are guaranteed. I believe it is an aberration at any time to have transition committees. This is my belief and as such, we must plan early enough for elections”.
Governor Okowa commended DSIEC for conducting what he called an acceptable local government election in 2014, adding, “we must try to ensure that there is transparency in the conduct of local government elections and I think that what happened in the 2014 local government elections was a step in the right direction”.
“People must be free to make their own choices and we must ensure that the choices that are made by the people become reality”, Okowa said.
While assuring that the report presented by the DSIEC would be studied and kept for future references, the governor said in the conduct of elections, fairness and impartiality must be prioritised.
The Chairman of DSIEC, Mr Moses Ogbe, had during the presentation of the report, assured Deltans of the commission’s commitment to conducting free, fair, and acceptable local government elections.
He emphasised that the task of conducting acceptable elections was the responsibility of all stakeholders and urged leadership of political parties to always play by the rules.