The Labour Party candidate in the 2023 governorship election in Enugu state, Hon. Chijioke Edeoga, has called on the Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, to expedite action on constitution reform to abrogate State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) in order to maximise gains of Supreme Court judgment on local government reforms.
In a statement he signed and made available to journalists Tuesday, Edeoga advised that riding on the wave of nationwide acceptance of the judgment of the Supreme Court therefore, the National Assembly should be made to initiate and fast-track amendments to the 1999 constitution to delist all mentions of state electoral commissions and push the responsibility for this to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The statement reads: โFollowing the July 11, 2024 judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which affirmed full financial autonomy to the 774 local government areas of the country, Nigerians from across political, social, and economic divides have praised the courage and vision of the federal government team, led by the Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, to take further steps towards rescuing Nigeriaโs third tier of government from the stranglehold of many state governors in the country.
โThankfully, so many governors have pledged to comply with the Supreme Court judgement, but the National Assembly should note that while Nigerians welcomed the judgment, they have equally pointed out that the judgment would be ineffectual without a corresponding amendment that guarantees relatively fairer and freer council elections.
โSuch pessimistic views should not be dismissed with a wave of the hand because, their public show of support for the judgment of the Supreme Court notwithstanding, it would not be out of place to find lots of governors continuing to pressurise their respective state Houses of Assembly to withhold assent to any bill for such important constitutional amendment.โ