On Wednesday, September 9, 2020, the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission (KOSIEC) announced 12 December, 2020 for the conduct of local government council election in the state.
KOSIEC, led by its chairman, Mamman Nda Eri, rolled out timetable for the conduct of council polls same day.
Going by the timetable released by the electoral commission, political parties have been busy selling nomination and intent forms to aspirants and have started putting machineries in place to start campaigns by Wednesday, November 4, 2020.
However, the state is current going through a sad moment occasioned by massive flooding.
As we speak, nine out of twenty one local governments in Kogi state are battling with uncomfortable situations caused by the flood. Local governments affected are; Bassa, Lokoja, Kogi, Omala, Idah, Ibaji, Dekina, Ofu and Igalamela-Odolu.
At a recent stakeholders meeting organised by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in partnership with the Kogi State Emergency Management Agency (KOSEMA), it was revealed that floods from River Niger have submerged over 70 communities and displaced over 50,000 people displaced from their houses in different parts of the state.
Ibaji local is usually the worst hit by flood. Thousands of residents have been sacked from their houses in the area and all the 26 schools in the council have been converted to internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.
These schools are designated polling units in the local government.
Also, residents of about twenty one communities in Lokoja local government area have relocated to neighbouring Niger state. These communities include; Eggan, Twaki, Kinami, Lagan, Buzhi, Ebwa, Miza, Ebbe, Dambo, Twanawa, Taraba, Taji, Doji, Compala, Edo, Lanbata, Budon, Gori, Budon Tsofo, Ashe and Arra.
Residents of these 21 communities who fled to Niger state are registered voters in Kogi state and are expected to partake in the forthcoming local government elections.
I call on KOSIEC to convene a meeting with stakeholders in environmental and climate-related agencies to ascertain the severity of the flood on Kogi electorate and verify forecasts to be sure dislodged residents will be back in their homes before December 12.
Going ahead with the local government polls despite current realities in the state will place a huge question mark on the elections as many registered voters will be disenfranchised by KOSIEC.
If experts cannot guarantee end of the flood by December 12, it is not a crime to postpone the local government election to a safer and more realistic time, probably, first quarter of 2021.
It will not cost the state or KOSIEC anything to adjust the election timetable. It has happened repeatedly for justifiable and unjustifiable reasons at the national level.
– Abidemi Olalekan writes from Lokoja.
