A CRITIQUE ON THE DISHARMONY OF VARIOUS LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION AND APPOINTMENT OF CARETAKERS COMMITTEE IN NIGERIA

By: Abdulkareem Rahamatullah Ochuu

ABSTRACT

Nigeria is characterized by a three-tier system of government, namely: federal, state, and local government. Every tier of government is independent of the other, and none is to interfere in the government and administration of the other. The local government, which is our subject matter, is saddled with the responsibility of bringing government closer to the people at the grassroots level, which is essential for a thriving federalism. However, with the current reality of local government administration in Nigeria, various local governments tend to rely on the state to determine their leadership, revenue, and mode of administration, among other things. With this indirect rule practiced by various state governments, local governments in Nigeria tend to have different laws administering them. This paper seeks to thoroughly scrutinize the administration of the third tier of government.

INTRODUCTION/COMMENCEMENT

Firstly, Nigeria has 774 local government areas. These local government areas are administered by a local government council, which forms the legislative and an executive body. The chairman of the council is the chief executive; other elected members are known and referred to as councilors, and these councilors are the legislative body of the local government areas. Looking at the history of the third tier of government, it has been characterized by instability of tenure and a lack of uniformity in administration, stemming from the administration of indirect rule (a system of governance where the traditional rulers serve as an intermediary between the government and the people). In the 1950s, when the regional system was introduced, each region determined its own method of local government administration. Dudley (1982) reports that:

For much of the region, the colonial framework was retained with barely any change, what changed there was being simply the conversion of what used to be known as ‘sole native authorities’– the Emir acting as sole administrator– into what was termed ‘Emir-in-Council’ that is a system in which the Emir was to be advised by his ‘council’ though he was under no obligation to accept what advice was proffered. (p. 110)

Local government has a role to promote local democracy, which is why they are constitutionally given the right of election pursuant to Section 7(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria:

7(1) 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.

But in recent times, local government has become a political tool in the hands of state governments, where most state governments resort to caretaker committees, which is contrary to Section 1(2 & 3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which provides that:

The federal republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any person or group of persons take control of the government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

If any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution, this constitution shall prevail and that other law shall to the extent of its inconsistency be void.

This simply shows that it was never the intention of the constitution drafters for local government to be robbed of their democracy by the so-called caretaker committees appointed by the state government. This caretaker committee system dates as far back as the second republic. Thereafter, the ideology of managing local government via appointed caretaker committees has formed a pattern in various state government systems of grassroots governance. This is partly seen as a gap left uncovered by the constitution. The constitution ought to have covered the field regarding the term of an elected local government council; this single act would have blocked the means to this undemocratic governance by various state governments.

To this effect, we have had notable pronouncements from the judicial arm of government. In the case of i.s.i.e.c v. ehirim (2013) 3 NWLR (pt. 1340) 169 sc, the Supreme Court held that the dissolution of democratically elected local government councils by the state is unconstitutional. Also, the recent decision of the apex court on local government autonomy in AG Federation v. AG Abia State & 35ors, among other declarations made by the Supreme Court, is making respective state governors and state houses of assembly under obligation to ensure democratic governance at the 3rd tier of government in Nigeria, namely the local government.

As published by Punch newspaper on June 30th, 2024, on June 28, 2024, the government of Jigawa state dissolved the elected council chairmen of the 27 local governments in the state. The state is said to have earlier amended the local government laws, extending the time for fresh local government council elections by one year and ordering the appointment of caretakers before the election. In the same publication, the governor of Rivers state, Siminalayi Fubara, appointed caretaker chairmen to take charge of local government councils in the state, and a similar event took place in Anambra State.

After the judicial pronouncement on July 11th, 2024, several states in the country (Nigeria) have conducted local government elections, including the likes of Ebonyi, Sokoto, Imo, Enugu, Kaduna, Rivers, etc. Using Kwara state's local government election history prior to September 21st, 2024, the state has for seven years administered its grassroots without a democratic change in government. The chairman of the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC), Baba Okanla, announced the outcome of the election, confirming that the ruling party APC won all 16 local government chairmanship positions, coupled with the 193 councillorship seats.

In Rivers state, following the judgment of the Supreme Court on the 11th day of July, 2024, which is to the effect that all states without democratically elected local government councils in place should conduct elections into their respective local government councils within 3 months from the day the judgment was delivered. Amidst the political qualms in the state and the conflicting decisions of the federal high court and the high court of the state on the conduct of the election and release of registered voters by INEC, the state has equally complied by conducting its local government election. On the 5th of October, 2024, the Chief Election Officer of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Justice Adolphus Enebeli, announced in Port Harcourt that the Action People’s Party won 22 of 23 chairmanship positions in the state local government polls. This recent development brought about by the judicial pronouncement on local government administration has paved the way for ensuring that the spirit of federalism at the grassroots level ensues.

Notwithstanding the various State Local Government Administration Laws, the Electoral Act 2022, pursuant to Section 108 of the act, states that an area council shall stand dissolved at the expiration of a period of four (4) years, commencing from when the chairman took the oath of office or when the legislative arm of the council was inaugurated. With the principle of covering the field, where a particular field has already been covered by the National Assembly, it takes precedence over the laws made by the state. As such, the Electoral Act takes precedence over the various Local Government Legislation Laws, as such laws will be immaterial in this field.

CONCLUSION

This study has taken into cognizance the differences in local government administration in Nigeria. It has identified that the issue is fundamental to the structure of the third tier of government and mostly involves constitutional issues. There have been calls to harmonize the tenure of Local Government Councils across all States in Nigeria to provide a unified term for all, due to all these discrepancies (National Assembly should harmonize tenure of LG chairmen – ALGON – Punch Newspapers (punchng.com); Ex-Reps Member Seeks Unified Tenure For LG Chairmen, Councilors (leadership.ng)).

REFERENCE

• Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended
• Electoral Act 2022
• Nigerian Weekly Law Reports
• Olaniyi, J.O., 2017, ‘State Independent Electoral Commissions and local government elections in Nigeria’, Africa’s Public Service Delivery and Performance Review 5(1), a133. https://doi.org/10.4102/apsdpr.v5i1.133
• Nwanna, C.R., 2014, ‘Local government elections in Nigeria’, International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education, vol 1, Issue 11, November 2014, PP 180-192.
• Dudley, B., 1982, An introduction to Nigerian government and politics, Macmillan Press, London.
• Punch Newspaper, 30th June, 2024.
• Lawyard.org, https://www.lawyard.org/news/court-orders-rivers-stateelectoral-commission-to-hold-local-government-elections-on-october-5/

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Abdulkareem Rahamatullah Ochuu is a student of the faculty of law, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.

• She can be reached via Abdulkareemrahama233@gmail.com or 09039065345.
• She can also be reached on LinkedIn.