Mr Fagbemi said the call for the transfer of the conduct of local government elections to INEC is fueled by the perception that state electoral commissions are appendages of incumbent governors.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has said there is a strong call for the scrapping of the state electoral commissions because of their abuse by governors.
Mr Fagbemi said the call for the transfer of the conduct of local government elections to INEC is fueled by the perception that SEIC are appendages of incumbent governors.
The AGF spoke on Monday at the national dialogue organised by the House of Representatives at the Sheraton Hotel in Abuja.
The dialogue was titled; Nigeria's Security Challenges and Good Governance at the Local Government Level.
Under the 1999 constitution, SIECs have the mandate to conduct elections in the 768 local governments in the 36 states of Nigeria, while INEC is responsible for the six area councils in Abuja and other elections.
Over the years, the inability of the SIECs to conduct free, fair and credible elections has led to calls for reforms. In many states, ruling parties in the states win all elections, while many states are operating caretaker committees.
In his speech, Mr Fagbemi said the perceived lack of independence by the electoral commissions is fueling the call for the shift.
"Many experts have proposed that there is a need for the scrapping of the state independent electoral commissions. Their functions and powers should be transferred to the independent national electoral commission because the state independent electoral commissions remain an appendage to every incumbent governor.
"This is perceived as the root cause of the problem of local government administration in Nigeria," he said.
However, the minister did not state if the executive was going to adopt the option, nor did he provide the stance of the government on the proposal by the experts.
To make the change, the constitution has to be amended. The process is currently going on in the two chambers of the National Assembly.
Constitution failed to protect local government autonomy
Mr Fagbemi said the constitution did not provide adequate political autonomy for the states, hence the abuse by state governments.
He explained that the failure of the constitution is to blame for the subjugation of the local governments by states.
"The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria did not provide adequately for the political autonomy of the local governments. The resultant effects of these inadequacies are that the state governments have the discretion to determine the nature, content and direction of local government elections and political activities.
"The failure of the constitution to articulate a clear line of authorities to both the state and local authorities and the continuing debate over the involvement of state governments in distributing local government allocation from the Federation Account has affected the capacity of LGAs to provide essential services at the grassroots," he said.
Speaking further, the AGF said that most local governments operate "as an appendage of the state governments" due to the constitution.
He added that "the constitutional provisions on State Joint Local Government Account (section 162 (5-8)) have placed the local government councils in a political bondage."
Mr Fagbemi said many state governors do not conduct elections rather they select preferred candidates.
"Politically, due to the flaws in the electoral process in the country, what is obtained is a virtual selection and not the election of local government functionaries. Local government chairmen are always imposed on the people by the state governors," he said.
Recommendations
Mr Fagbemi proposed some recommendations to address the problems facing local governments in Nigeria, stating that there is a need to amend the 1999 constitution to address the anomalies.
"LGAs are created by the constitution. Accordingly, in a tiered system like ours, a constitutional amendment is imperative before a new system of local government administration can be instituted.
"Good governance at any level of governance is not possible without the transfer of authority, responsibilities, capacity and resources. This is even more so for the LGAs.
He stated that the reforms should, among other things, aim to increase the fiscal and administrative autonomy of the local government system to enhance its effectiveness and efficiency;
Mr Fagbemi also said, "Fiscal autonomy should be balanced with fiscal restraint by strengthening the internal controls system, processes and infrastructure for public financial management."
In addition, the minister said the legislative arms of local governments should be allowed to decide what they should do with revenue accruing to them. He said there is a need to invest more in local government administration with institutionalised internal and external oversight.
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PREMIUM TIMES reported that the AGF, on behalf of the federal government, filed a suit at the Supreme Court against the 36 state governments, seeking the enforcement of full autonomy of the local governments in Nigeria.
Opposition to reforms by governors
Governors have a history of opposing any form of reform of the local government system. Most constitutional alteration bills on reforms are blocked by them.
In December 2022, former President Muhammadu Buhari accused the state governors of pilfering local government funds.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how state governors rose against a move by the NFIU to abolish the states' local governments' joint accounts through which governors allegedly exercised absolute control over local governments' funds in the country.
The NFIU placed a limit on cash withdrawals from local government accounts to a maximum of N500,000 per day. It warned banks to ensure strict compliance.
Last December, the Nigerian Senate asked the federal government to stop the allocation of funds to local governments run by caretaker committees.
