Abolishing State Electoral Commissions Will Overburden INEC — Yiaga Africa

One of Nigeria’s election observer groups, Yiaga Africa, has warned against abolishing the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) and extending their duties to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

In May, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, called for the abolishment of SIECs.

Mr Fagbemi alleged that state governors have found a way of abusing local governments’ rights by using SIECs to impose leaders.

He further added that SIECs’ responsibilities should be transferred to INEC. This is despite Yiaga’s call for local government enhancement in April.

However, in a statement on Friday, the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said the abolishment of SIECs and transferring of its responsibilities to INEC would overstretch the commission and undermine the autonomy of states.

Yiaga Africa has observed increasing calls for abolishing SIECs and transferring the responsibility of conducting local government elections to the INEC. This policy proposal is fundamentally flawed and would have far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s 25-year democracy if implemented,” he said.

According to Itodo, it will overstretch an overburdened INEC, leading to poorly conducted local elections.

Moreso, it undermines the autonomy of states guaranteed in the constitution, potentially leading to an overconcentration of power in the Federal Government, adding that “it weakens local democracy and citizens’ participation as local communities will be stripped of the opportunity to participate in decision-making.”

Itodo has since urged the government to amend the constitution rather than abolish it to safeguard the operational, administrative, and financial independence of SIECs.

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