Local Governance in Nigeria in Crisis Mode as Judge Delivers Jarring Ruling
Local government elections in Nigeria continue to be plagued by constitutional uncertainty, with the ruling by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, handing a major blow to democratically elected councils.
In a move that constitutional lawyers have decried as “a rape on the nation’s judiciary”, Justice Lifu ruled on Monday that the Electoral Act is the law for conducting local government elections, taking precedence over state electoral laws. This judgment has widespread implications, threatening to disrupt the already fragile electoral ecosystem in Nigeria.
The Association of Constitutional Lawyers, speaking through their leader, Obe Agu, Esq, has expressed shock, disappointment, and disillusionment with the judgment. Condemning the ruling, they warned that if the judgment is not vacated, it will undermine all local government elections held already in Kwara, Anambra, Imo, and other states where the enabling state electoral law was used.
According to Agu, Justice Lifu’s judgment “imposes Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) laws over State Electoral Bodies in local government elections without Constitution Amendment, which is strange and aberrant.” He explained that the Constitution established the Independent National Electoral Commission but also gave legal backing to State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs). Both bodies have the concurrent responsibility of conducting elections but only at the appropriate level.
The constitutional lawyers claimed that Justice Lifu took a contradictory stance in light of a recent judgment they obtained, in which an INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, posited that INEC alone could conduct elections into state government in the 36 states only if the state legislature amends the constitutional law to transfer the electoral responsibility to the commission.
The implications of these judgments are far-reaching as they undermine the authority and legitimacy of local government, which is the bedrock of Nigeria’s democracy, and threaten to destabilise the already troubled electoral infrastructure in the country.
If the National Judicial Council can stop Justice Lifu now, it may salvage integrity and sustenance of Nigerian democracy.
