“We may rise in protest"

Comrade Goddy Ibekwe

– Comrade Goddy Ibekwe , chairman Anambra State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and president, National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE)
By Okechukwu Obenta , Awka

In what manner has the non-conduct of elections at the local government level in the state affected performances or effective running of the local government administration in the state?

In fact, the constitution, either in section 7 or 8, provided for elected local government chairmen and councilors at the local government system. And that of the Nigerian Constitution (1999) provided for that and that was not done. Certainly such negligence will affect the effective running of the system. If elections were conducted, you will see the councillors that will form the legislative arm of the government. The executive arm will be there. The customary courts and others will be more functional to interpret those laws made by the councilors. But if they (councillors) in the name of legislative arm have not gotten the opportunity to go there and make the laws, the bye-laws, that will make the people who live there to feel that government is in progress (at the state level, the state House of Assembly makes the law that govern the people at that level). So, to me, a lot of things are being lacked at the local government level in the state because of non-democratisation of that system. The culverts and the local government roads that are supposed to be maintained are not done. In fact, go to all the communities in the state and you will see that you cannot pass through the roads because all the roads are not maintained. It is only the state and federal roads that you can pass easily, but, that of the local governments are lacking. If the councillors were there, they will legislate on issues that will enhance the well-being of the locality.

Has this absence of elected chairmen and councillors at the local government levels in the state got anything to do with the current level of insecurity in the state?

I am aware that when every local governments in the country is developed, all the states and the federation will be developed, because the local governments make up the states and the federation at large. And if the elections are conducted at the local government level, the chairmen who will become the chief executives, the chief security officers at that level will make appropriate provisions for the security of lives and properties of the people in those areas. So if the 21 local governments in the state are properly governed security wise by the elected chairmen, by the legislative arm, then the urban areas, that are being controlled by the states, the crime level will be minimal. The absence of elected chairmen and councillors at the local government levels in Anambra state is also contributing to a great extent the current high level of insecurity in the state. If the elections are conducted you will see that more people will be gainfully employed in the state, and the welfare of the people at that level will be better improved because you will see all the relatives of those who will be chairmen and councillors and their dependents better taken care of . All these issues of NARTO (National Association of Road Transport Owners) will lessen. Every morning, people will be busy going to a particular local government for one thing or the other.

Did Governor Obi make any promise on when to conduct the local government elections when you met with him as you earlier said?

Well, our last discussion with him, that was in April, shortly after he came into power, he assured us that elections will be conducted. But up till now, we have not seen anything indicating that elections are forthcoming as he scheduled within the period he came into office. Now the chairmen of states Independent Electoral Commission in the federation met and said that elections into local governments will be conducted by November 2006. And the local government Electoral Law also provided that before any state Independent Electoral Commission will conduct elections such commission would have been in existence for 90 days. And Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission had been dissolved for long, and November is fast approaching. If the governor, Peter Obi does not reconstitute the ANSIEC this month (August) then there is the tendency that Anambra state may not join in the elections that have been agreed by these chairmen of states INEC throughout the federation where they said elections at the local government will hold in November this year. This is because there is no way the short period the SIEC will be in existence will enable them provide the materials and the tools they will need to conduct the election. And I want to use this opportunity to request His Excellency to ensure that Anambra state local government system, participate in the elections coming up in November. And I want to tell you that our workers may not condone it again if the state fails to participate in that election. We have endured enough, we may not condone it again because we are part of this country, and if any political group or any political father feels that they can only succeed with local government fund, I am telling you as the state President of NULGE and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and we the workers may not accept it again. We may resist it.

But are you saying that the funds accruing to the local governments are not being properly and proficiently being spent?

Well, because of section162 of the Nigerian Constitution that talks about state and local government joint account, the money that is supposed to go to local government drops into an account they call “Joint Account” which is supposed to be properly distributed to the local consumers. But because of the absence of the people who should have the mandate of the locality, it is now people on interim arrangement. That is the Head of Service (the civil servants) that are holding forth. And they cant speak much like the elected chairmen. That is why I am saying that we are not properly informed about how much that is being accrued to that account because what they are operating in Anambra state is just paying salaries.