The local government election held across 20 local government areas (LGAs) including 37 local council development areas (LCDAs) in Lagos State on July 20 partly symptomised the ills afflicting local government system in Nigeria. The poll, for which the movement of an estimated 28 million residents of Nigeria’s most populous city was restricted for most part of the day, featured low turnout of voters, and a consequent predictable outcome that largely depicts travesty of democracy. Expectedly, there were some alarms about voters’ intimidation, but this was largely unsubstantiated. It is pertinent to however add that what played out in Lagos was a repeat of the mockery witnessed across the country in the guise of local government polls, as the ruling party swept virtually all the elective positions. Participation was undoubtedly low. But unless Nigerians participate actively in determining how they are governed at the local government level, the search for credible leadership that could be held to account in maximising the dividends of democracy will continue to be elusive.

Results of the election declared shows that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won all the 57 chairmanship seats and 375 out of the 376 councillorship positions leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with only a councillorship seat. It couldn’t have come as a surprise to many that the election in Lagos ended as one-party affairs. The outcome followed in the pattern of what has become a norm with local government elections across the country.

Local government system is highly sought-after the world over to complement development at the grassroots. Ideally, local government administration features as platforms for political participation as well as for democratic engagement. Unfortunately, in spite of the provisions of 1999 Constitution in Section 7(1) affirming the imperative of democratic elected leadership at the local government level, Nigerians are becoming increasingly less enthusiastic about local government elections. The strategic importance of the local government in driving development at the grassroots as specified in the Fourth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution has been eroded owing to increasing citizens’ apathy which admittedly is a consequence of state capture. It is indeed worrisome that local government elections in Nigeria largely manifest acquiescence, dissonance and disapproval among overwhelming majority of the populace and particularly the eligible voters. The prevailing situation demands urgent need for decisive steps towards restoring the trust in local government system as well as to imbue the electoral process with modicum of credibility as a way of addressing voter apathy. Nothing depicts the failure of a democratic system than when the people are no longer interested in who governs them or how they are being governed. It is precisely on account of this that we strongly advocate the reappraisals of the prevailing challenge which undermines the quest for genuine democracy at local government system level.

The prevailing apathy among the populace regarding local government administration in Nigeria is a huge disservice to democracy. While there is enormous interest in the clamour for electoral reform at the national level, it would appear that Nigerians have given up on demanding credible polls at the local government.

It should, however, be instructive that a chieftain of the APC in Lagos State, Fouad Oki has lamented the projected less than 6% voters’ turn recorded in the just concluded local government elections. That election which recorded percentage of voters’ turnout far below the national average, speaks to the depth with which the trust of majority of citizens in election has been breached as a consequence of the lack of transparency and credibility of the process. It was evident from the near-zero enthusiasm that attended the pre-election events that an overwhelming majority of the electorate were not keen about participating in the poll. It turned out that the election witnessed abysmal low turn-out of voters which fell below the average of 11% voter turnout recorded in the previous local government poll held in 2021. Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) confirmed 7,060,195 registered voters with 6,214,970 permanent voters cards (PVCs) collected by eligible electorate across Lagos State. Democracy thrives on popular participation in the political process and particularly through the civic responsibility of voting.

The prevailing apathy that dominates local government elections across the country is not only a sign of disillusionment about democracy but also a disservice to the quest of demanding leadership accountability and quality governance at the grassroots. There is the urgent need to make local government elections appealing to the populace. Regrettably, the prevailing transactional politics only provides fertile ground for the emergence of mercantile actors who lack the ideological commitment and the resilience for organising and mobilising around programs and policies that touch on issues germane to developmental needs at the grassroots. It must be asserted therefore that only genuine political parties founded on ideology and commitment to pro-people governance can change the narrative of one-party dominance at the local government level.

We dare say that challenging the stranglehold of state capture at the grassroots requires unflagging doggedness and clearly defined goals by the opposition. Achieving the objective of genuine democracy through participatory, credible elections at the local government is beyond looking at the direction of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) already overburdened with national and state elections. On the long run, organising credible elections that meet the expectation of genuine democracy at the local government level should be the responsibility of sub-nationals in affirmation of genuine federalism.