The report said 69 per cent of respondents admitted they had never voted in any local government election.
Only 41 per cent of Nigerians trust State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) to conduct free and fair local government elections, a new report by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has said.
The report, titled "From Apathy to Action: A Reform Blueprint for SIECs and Community-Level Democracy", is the latest edition (Volume 5, Issue 2) of HEDA's Leadership Approval Rating (LAR) series and was officially launched on Wednesday in Lagos.
The survey, conducted in June 2025, sampled 1,428 Nigerians across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
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It found that while 87 per cent of respondents correctly identified SIECs as the statutory agencies responsible for local elections, only 45 per cent believed they operate independently of state governors.
"This reveals a critical trust deficit," said Sulaimon Arigbabu, HEDA's Executive Secretary, during the launch. "Where independence and transparency are in doubt, legitimacy quickly collapses."
Poor ratings, high apathy
While explaining the report, Mr Arigbabu lamented that despite high awareness, voter participation remains abysmally low.
He said 69 per cent of respondents admitted they had never voted in any local government election.
He noted that ratings of SIEC performance were similarly dismal--only 44 per cent rated their commissions as "Good" or "Excellent," while 24 per cent graded them "Poor" or "Very Poor."
Mr Arigbabu stated that public confidence in election transparency was nearly evenly split - 36 per cent described the process as "somewhat transparent," while 35 per cent said it was "not transparent."
On voter education, he explained that only 26 per cent rated SIEC efforts positively. Just 30 per cent reported seeing election observers at polling units, a sign HEDA described as weak monitoring where scrutiny should be highest.
When asked about the biggest challenge facing SIECs, 48.5 per cent cited lack of independence. This was followed by voter education (17 per cent) and logistical insecurity (8 per cent), the new report said.
The report further said that a striking 55 per cent majority of respondents expressed their preference for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take over local government elections, citing its relative independence and credibility.
Reform
From 1,878 reforms suggested by citizens, the report categorised demands as 39.6 per cent expressed general frustration with the current system and 17.8 per centdemanded full SIEC autonomy.
While 11.6 per cent advocated tamper-proof digital result systems; 9.9 per cent requested stronger voter education and 6.5 per cent called for outright abolition of SIECs and transfer of duties to INEC.
According to Mr Arigbabu, the demographic breakdown showed 59 per cent of respondents were under 35 and 92 percent had tertiary education, suggesting that young, educated Nigerians are deeply engaged in democratic reform issues at the grassroots.
He called on the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC)--which is set to conduct local elections on Saturday, to use the opportunity to demonstrate transparency and independence.
"HEDA calls on LASIEC to rise above public scepticism and deliver a credible, free and fair process," he said.
He urged security agencies to remain neutral and civil society organisations to observe with vigilance and impartiality.
"Voter intimidation or suppression in any form must not be tolerated," Arigbabu warned.
"This report is not just research documentation, it is a national call to conscience. The people have spoken. It's time for institutions to act. This moment must mark our collective shift from apathy to action."
Trust deficit, an indictment
In his preface to the report, HEDA chairperson Olanrewaju Suraju said the findings were consistent with previous LAR editions on the police, judiciary, and health sector. "Where transparency and independence are missing, public trust collapses," he said.
"These numbers are a serious indictment of grassroots electoral credibility. If Nigerians cannot trust the most basic level of the democratic process, the entire structure is at risk," Mr Suraju added.
He said the LAR offers a citizen-driven roadmap for reform: granting SIECs full autonomy, enforcing strict penalties for misconduct, deploying digital result collation tools, and investing in community-level voter education.
"These are not elite opinions--they are the voices of market women in Onitsha, students in Calabar, and mechanics in Katsina," Mr Suraju said. "They understand the cost of a broken system and the promise of a functional one."
The report warns that poor service delivery and elite capture of local politics are the inevitable consequences of flawed local elections.
Calls for reforms
At the report launch, several participants called for decentralisation of electoral reforms and an end to the practice of governors appointing SIEC officials.
They also demanded continuous amendments to the Electoral Act to reflect public expectations.
But not all stakeholders support transferring local election responsibilities to INEC.
Prior to this launch, in a keynote address at the 13th Annual Conference of the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions (FOSIECON) held in Jos in May, Samuel Egwu of the University of Jos warned that abolishing SIECs would erode federalism.
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"Local elections reflect electoral authoritarianism," he said. "Caretaker committees have replaced elected councils in many states. Ruling parties dominate. Elections lack competitiveness and credibility."
He called instead for "constitutional reform to define council tenure, guarantee SIEC financial and operational independence, and overhaul appointment processes."
He stressed that the problem lies not just with SIECs, but with Nigeria's political culture where power and public resources are monopolised by elite interests.
Similarly, Yiaga Africa's Executive Director, Samson Itodo, cautioned that scrapping SIECs would overstretch INEC and violate Nigeria's federal structure. "The constitution guarantees state autonomy. Weakening it by centralising election conduct in Abuja risks authoritarian drift," he said.
He noted that the 2022 Electoral Act already mandates SIECs to follow INEC's procedures and urged more support for implementation at state levels.
The lack of independence of SIECs and agencies and other subnational entities has been partly blamed on governors' overbearing influence which extended to their absolute control of local government funds for decades.
In July last year, the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgement to affirm local governments' financial autonomy, but implementation in many states remain a challenge.
