Saturday 17th October 2026 is LGA election day in Kogi State.
The Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission (KOSIEC) set today for chairmanship and councillorship elections across all 21 Local Government Areas, 239 electoral wards and 3,508 polling units in the state.
The notice was signed by KOSIEC Chairman Hon. Mamman Nda Eri.
If you are voting today, this is what that Chairman/Chairperson you elect will actually do:
Functions of an Elected LGA Chairman / Chairperson in Nigeria
Under the 1999 Constitution, the executive power of a local government is vested in the chairman.
He/she is the Chief Executive and Chief Accounting Officer of the LGA.
Executive & Administrative leadership
Presides over the Executive Council – Vice Chairman, Secretary, and Supervisors who he appoints
Implements bye-laws, council resolutions and state government policies at the local level.
Local governments work under supervision of the state
Prepares and presents the LGA budget, submits monthly income and expenditure
Statutory Functions – 4th Schedule of the Constitution:
Construction and maintenance of local roads, streets, drains, public conveniences
Establishment and maintenance of markets, motor parks, and public places
Primary health care, primary and adult education support
Registration of births, deaths, marriages
Assessment and collection of rates, radio/TV licenses, market and park fees
Naming of streets, numbering of houses, control of outdoor advertising, pets, and local security
Ensuring order in markets, providing amenities, building new facilities when necessary
Financial & Development role
Monitors departments through Supervisors, monitors payments (though he does not sign cheques directly)
Attracts development projects, manages federal allocation and internally generated revenue for the LGA
Why this tier is the most important to ordinary people
It is the closest government to you. Federal is in Abuja, State is in Lokoja, but LGA is in your town.
It is the government you can walk to and complain to.
It handles daily life problems: Whether your community market is clean, your feeder road is passable in rainy season, your primary health centre has drugs, your borehole works, your refuse is packed — that’s LGA work.
Grassroots participation & representation: With 239 wards in Kogi, your councillor lives in your ward.
This tier gives farmers, traders, women, youth a real chance to participate, unlike state/federal politics.
Foundation for democracy and development: When LGAs work, they reduce rural-urban migration, create local jobs through markets and motor parks, improve security because the Chairman knows the local terrain and can coordinate local vigilante/community policing.
Now more powerful than before: With the recent Supreme Court judgment on LGA financial autonomy, allocations now go directly to LGAs.
Who you elect today controls that money directly for the next two years in Kogi.
In short: The Governor decides policy for Kogi State, but the LGA Chairman decides whether that policy reaches your street in Ankpa, Okene, Kabba-Bunu, or Lokoja.
If you are going out to vote today, go with your PVC, check your polling unit early, and stay peaceful.
This is the one election where your vote has the most direct effect on your compound.
– Benjamin Ibrahim writes from Lokoja, Kogi state.
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