Idris Miliki Abdul is the executive director, Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (CHRCR) based in Lokoja, Kogi State, he spoke on the lack of interest shown by Governor Yahaya Bello to conduct local government election in the state and other issues. Excerpts:
It is almost a year ago since the caretaker committee was set up by Governor Yahaya Bello to handle the administration of local governments in the state contrary to the provisions of the law, do you see the possibility of holding the election soon?
It is worrisome that since May 6th 2016, when Alhaji Yahaya Bello appointed “Administrators” for the 21 local government councils without any law or pronouncement or resolution of the Kogi State House of Assembly. In addition, no one knows the statutory allocations accruing to each of the 21 local government councils in the state. It is disturbing that the governor pronounced during the inauguration of the REVENUE HOUSE on the 27th of January 2017, that he had granted autonomy to local government councils in the state. The question is, Can the local government councils be autonomous when they are not democratically constituted?
Observers are worried that the Bello-led administration does not make any budgetary provision for state electoral commission that would enable them to conduct election this year, what is take on it?
The 2017 State Budget as presented on 22nd of December 2016 and assented to on Wednesday February 22nd 2017 by the Governor of the State Alhaji Yahaya Bello, did not make provision of any kind for the conduct of local government election. If you look at the budget, you would see that only N18m was provided for Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) and a paltry sum of N450m was provided for the office of the Secretary to State Government (SSG). The N18m provided for in the budget is just a subvention to SIEC, and no mention of local government elections in the entire Budget document. It was shameful to witness the contradictions and arguments during the Budget defence between the SIEC Chairman and the SSG. It showed clearly that there was no harmonisation between governments agencies in the state, as the SIEC Chairman presented a budget of over N1b that were not contained in the State Budget Proposal.
Opposition politicians have demanded the state government to publish allocations to the 21 local governments since they were appointed. Do you support such demand?
What I am saying is where is the Statutory Allocations to the 21 Local government councils since May 2016?We challenge the Kogi State government to publish the Statutory Allocations from the Federation account to the 21 Local government councils and what it had done with it.
How soon do you think the government may conduct the election?
It is a known fact that there is no clear agenda for the conduct of local government elections in Kogi state as at today, despite that the current “Administrators” being in office since May 16th 2016 and the law says that SIEC shall make the timetable for the conduct of elections known to the registered political parties and other stakeholders 90 days before the conduct of such elections. The implications of this constitutional negligence and illegality on the part of the state government, is that these current “Administrators” would spend 1 year without elections being conducted. Now that there were no provisions for the conduct of these local government elections in the approved 2017 budget, would there be a Supplementary Budget for the conduct of these Local government councils, since the law does not permit Caretaker committee or any other nomenclature in the running of the local government affairs other than democratically elected councils?
As at March 2017, there are no budgets pending before the Kogi State House of Assembly for local governments councils even when they claim that the monies being spent by the illegal “Administrators” where appropriated by the immediate past elected local government councils. The law does not permit the spending of inappropriate public funds at all levels of government.
What is your view on the crisis in the state chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC)?
I am not a politician but from what we observe in the state all is not well for the state chapter of APC. The governor immediately he came to power, sidelined some of the party executives. I believe that has been the genesis of crisis rocking the party in the state. We advised the party to put its house in order because the friction is affecting governance and it is not what the people of the state voted for in the last elections. It is on record that the present government has received a lot of money from the federal government in the past one year which we can understand what the government did with the money. Within the first year of its administration, the Bello administration got Paris Club refund, bail out and the monthly statutory allocations from the federal government which runs into several billions of naira. Unfortunately, we cannot see what the government used the money for in the state.
Are you satisfied with the performance of opposition political parties in the state?
Opposition politicians especially those in Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which was in power until January 2016 in the state are not active. There were several actions of the present government which are not in line with the constitution especially during the period the state assembly was in crisis and could not meet that I expected the opposition party to challenge the government but we didn’t hear anything much from them.
What is your appeal to the government on the delay in the conduct of election?
We call on the government of Alhaji Yahaya Bello to immediately put machinery in place for the conduct of elections to local government councils without delay according to the provisions of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria as amended. The 1999 constitution (as amended) stated as follows in Part II Section7 (1):
“The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the government of every state shall subject to section 8 of this constitution, ensure their existence under a law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils.
(2) the person authorized by law to prescribe the area over which a local government council may exercise authority shall (a) define such area as clearly as practicable; and (b) ensure, to the extent to which it may be reasonably justifiable, that in defining such area regard is paid to the common interest of the community in the area, traditional association of the community and administrative convenience. With the above provisions and more, the Bello led administration cannot afford to deny the people of Kogi State a democratically elected local government system.
Credit: Julius Atabor | Independent
