INEC conducting LG polls will bring regrets – OSSIEC chair

The Chairman of Osun State Independent Electoral Commission, Hashim Abioye, has warned against transferring the conduct of local government elections from the state electoral commissions to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

He warned that scrapping the state independent electoral commission for INEC to conduct LG elections would lead to regret for Nigerians.

Abioye, who stated this in Osogbo, the state capital, on Wednesday while featuring on a programme organised by the League of Veteran Journalists, said the federal bodies had been so overburdened, that it was leaving the state little or nothing to deal with.

“Let me tell you, if you say INEC or another agency should come and conduct the LG election, we will all sit down and blame ourselves for it.

“We are saying that the federal bodies have been so overburdened, the exclusive legislative list is so overwhelming that it is leaving the state little or nothing to deal with.

“But here, we are still talking about giving the responsibility of conducting elections into the LGs, the closest to the people at the grassroots, to a national body. Those who bastardised the system in the past are those clamouring for the scrapping of OSSIEC,” he said.

Abioye said despite the financial autonomy granted LGs by the Supreme Court, its administration remained tied to the state government in several ways.

He said the state House of Assembly and other agencies of the state would still work with the third tier of government for efficiency.

He said the Supreme Court judgment only meant that the funds accruing to the LGs from the federation account and other sources must be administered by elected officials, though the function of appropriation would still be performed by the state House of Assembly.

“The Supreme Court basically excluded the state from receiving funds on behalf of local government areas. So, all funds given to a local government should go directly without first landing in the purse of an agent or a middleman. That is just the decision of the Supreme Court.

“But, how would they (chairmen) spend the funds? I heard that some people living abroad have been saying that it is time to come home to become the chairman of their LGs because of financial autonomy.

“If there is financial autonomy, does it mean that without any agency supervising you, you just dip your hands into the treasury of the LG and spend anyhow?

“Let me tell you this, go and check the constitution. The LG is like a bone tied to the neck of a dog. It is tied to the House of Assembly. You cannot spend a kobo from the purse of LG without informing or being appropriated for by the state House of Assembly. The Supreme Court has not removed the House of Assembly from performing that function for the LGs,” he said.

He added that the responsibilities of the LGs are tied to states in many ways.

Abioye added, “So if your funds come, you cannot do anything about it unless you go through the budgetary line and who will appropriate? It is the State House of Assembly. All the staff of the LGs are staff of the LG Service Commission which is a state executive body.

“Salaries of primary school teachers are from the LGs, chieftaincy affairs are affairs of the state, and their salaries allowances are from the LG and these are state executive bodies, so what are we saying?”

Speaking on the preparation for the proposed LG elections in the state, Abioye, who said preparations were in top gear for the exercise, added that critical stakeholders were being carried along in the activities of the commission leading to the polls.

He assured the people that the commission would conduct a poll that would be acceptable to all participating parties.