LG Polls: Close to 2-yrs as governor, Soludo continues to breach constitution

By Ifeizu Joe

Anambra State governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo has remained in breach of Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, since his swearing in, close to two years ago, THE RAZOR can authoritatively report.

The quoted section of the constitution aptly provides that “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.”

In Anambra , Soludo and Anambra State House of Assembly have remained in flagrant abuse of the process, and have continued to run the local government with caretaker committees, in place of elected chairmen.

Late last year, the Senate asked the Federal Government to block statutory allocations to any local government council not democratically elected.

The Red Chamber unanimously resolved that this move would deter the dictatorial tendencies of state governors.

The resolution was sequel to a motion moved by Sen. Abba Moro. The lawmakers argued that the placement of Caretaker Committees to replace Elected Councils is an aberration, undemocratic and a breach of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). Senator Victor Umeh (representing Anambra Central Senatorial district), who seconded the motion, lamented that the issue has continued to undermine the local government system in Nigeria.

Consequently, the Senate condemned the arbitrary dissolution of democratically elected local government councils in most states, including Anambra.

Anambra is one of the worst states in terms of non-conduct of local government elections. The last local government election in the state was held during the twilight of the Peter Obi administration in January 2014.

Many had blamed him for remembering to do so only when his administration was winding up, but at least he did.

For eight years, former governor, Chief Willie Obiano failed to conduct the election, heightening the quest for it.

During the 2021 governorship election in the state, it was obvious that only one who supported the conduct of the election may get the people’s votes.

Prof Soludo cashed in on that. He promised that if elected, the local government election would be one of his priorities.

On March 17, Soludo will be two years in office. There has been constant prodding by opposition parties for the governor to hold election, but many believe that there is nothing on ground to show that Soludo is ready for it.

While there is no constituted electoral body, the lawmaker representing Awka South 1 constituency in the House of Assembly, Henry Mbachu, during the presentation of the 2024 budget, lamented the absence of budgetary allocation for the conduct of LG polls.

He said: “Going through the budget estimate presented, it is glaring that there are no intentions of conducting LGA elections next year (2024).

“On page 475, the budget for the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission for this current year was N89,120,000, while the projected estimate for the incoming year is N129,120,000.

“You find out that there’s no feasibility or readiness for local government elections for the incoming year. I worry so much because this tier of government has suffered so much because of a lack of local government elections.”

Meanwhile, a human rights activist, Mr Kenechukwu Kodili, who spoke to THE RAZOR, lamented that Soludo was already disappointing the people by reneging on the conduct of local government elections in the state.

He said: “For close to two years of being the governor, all he (Soludo) does is renew the tenure of the caretaker local government chairmen every three months.

“That was not what he promised the people. He was himself elected into the governorship seat, he should also conduct elections to elect local government chairmen, not to keep renewing the appointment of those he appointed.”

Many concerned Nigerians are worried that despite the clear provision of the constitution and even court judgements, Soludo has continued to breach the law, despite his own promise.

Several court pronouncements have held that the use of caretaker committees was in conflict with section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution, but every two months, the House of Assembly on the prompting of the state governor renews the tenure of the appointed caretakers of local government system in Anambra.

However, Soludo who used the conduct of local government elections as part of their campaign promises, reneged immediately he got elected into office.

It could be recalled that former president Muhammadu Buhari had at a time signed an executive bill mandating the direct payment of statutory allocation to the state judiciary, legislature and the local government councils.

Many believe that corporate malfeasance abound in the handling of LG funds by the governor, with the local government chairmen always crying in silence for fear of victimization, especially as they were appointed by him, and would like to keep their positions.

As 2025 governorship election creeps in, many are waiting to know if Soludo will redeem his promise by holding the local government election before then.

Meanwhile, a top contender of the position of governor, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah has condemned Soludo for reneging on his promise. Ubah said unlike Soludo who went back on his promise, he would conduct the local Government election in four months after his swearing in. He said this will FasTrack development in all the Council areas simultaneously, and also shed the weight of governance off the state governor.