Senate bill on LG election will kill democracy — NNPP

The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) on Wednesday condemned a recent Senate bill proposing the establishment of a Local Government Election Commission, calling it a dangerous move that threatens democracy in the country due to its fraudulent intent.

Titled “Local Government Independent Electoral Commission ‘Establishment’ Bill, 2024 ‘SB. 531,’” the bill is sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, and has since passed its first reading at plenary.

It is intended to be an autonomous body mandated to organise, oversee, and conduct elections for the offices of local government chairman and councillors across all states.

While reacting to the bill, the National Publicity Secretary of NNPP, Ladipo Johnson, in a statement, said that it was inconceivable that such a bill was being proposed as a platform to conduct local government elections in the country.

He observed that the conception that the piece of legislation would make the body a federal agency has robbed it of any iota of integrity to serve the envisaged purpose.

He warned that granting federal powers to such an agency would exacerbate an already chaotic electoral process, further damaging the nation’s democracy, adding that it would never serve a good purpose but rather destroy whatever was left of the nation’s beleaguered democracy.

Johnson said: “It is unfortunate that we continue to see plans and actions by some politicians which are obviously tailored towards some specific negative objective.

“The bill by the Senate to create an autonomous federal agency to conduct local government elections in the country is clearly a dangerous move. It won’t serve the intended purpose but will totally kill democracy in the country because it is prone to abuse and will certainly be abused by the Federal authority!

“The very negative perception of INEC, based on recurring criticisms of its records in the conduct of elections over time, and especially the overwhelming public opinion about the conduct of the general election and the recent one in Edo State, does not support the idea of such a federal agency and should be jettisoned.

“This is why Nigerians must rise against this bill being passed into law. The protest against this bill is urgent and must be championed by all opposition parties. It can only further serve as a major encumbrance to democracy because it is prone to naked abuse by Federal powers. Anything their infectious fingers touch becomes corrosive.”

Johnson said that the real issue with elections in Nigeria lies within the institutions themselves, which are often marred by fraudulent practices.

He argued that rather than creating new agencies, there should be a commitment to enforcing electoral laws and upholding democratic principles.