By Chuka Nnabuife
Sometimes the worst debacle is faced in trying to please people who think they are smart. When they try their dribbles and fail, they would play the glib. Should that hit the rock, they would resort to blackmail. Upon hitting the rock with that, they could play the victim, crying ‘wolf’ where there is none or shamelessly shedding crocodile tears. Their pouch are full of antics and deliberate acts of subversion. Only wisdom, focus and providence makes one beat them, especially, in the field of politics.
Before Tuesday, August 6, 2024 the hue and cry on the lips of very partisan political plotsmen was ‘Anambra State must organise local government elections.’ The calls rented the air everywhere across the state and sustained in dizzying pulsation. Some of the promoters adduced a variety of reasons from the fallacious to the sensational. Some hinged their unsuccessfully veiled partisan slants on the fact that Gov. Charles Chukwuma Soludo promised LG polls from the outset of his administration.
When Gov. Soludo inaugurated the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) at the Governor’s Lodge, Anambra, on Tuesday, August 6, and charged them to organise the local government elections in the state, among other assignments, he caged the hounds.
During the inauguration Prof. Soludo urged the Commission headed by
Magistrate Chinelo Genevieve Osakwe (Chairman) to gird her loins and leave no stone, unturned in giving Anambra the best LG elections.
Along with other members of the ANSIEC, Mrs. Bernadine Obande,
Barr. Osita Cyril Igbokwe,
Sir Chinedu Anthony Nnalue,
Mrs. Helen Ifeyinwa Umeh and
Mr. John Emeka Okeke, the Chairman pledged to organise the best election.
Terms of Reference of the newly constituted ANSIEC derive from constitutional roles of state electoral commissions. The duties comprise organising, undertaking, and supervising all elections and matters pertaining to elections to the elective offices in the Local Government councils in the state; dividing the area of Local Governments into such number of wards or constituencies as are prescribed by law for the purpose of the elections.
The assignments draw from the provisions of Nigeria Electoral Law, Electoral Act 2024 such as in Section 153 and Section 154.
The governor charged the members of ANSIEC to render nothing but sterling service to Anambra State.
Ever since, the Commission has settled to work with commendable zest. Updates on the Anambra LG stipulate that the scheduled election date is Saturday, September 28, 2024. The 2024 Anambra State Electoral Law has been signed by Gov Soludo while as required in Section 155 of The Electoral Act 2024 the Election Timetable was published at ANSIEC headquarters from Wednesday, August 14.
Nomination of Candidates by political parties is next stage in the election process. The law guiding LG elections states in Section 156 that “political parties shall nominate candidates for the elections, and the SIECs shall publish the list of nominated candidates.”
Thereafter electoral campaigns would kickoff, to be followed by voting, which according to the Electoral Act 2024, should be by “secret ballot”, and collation.
“SIECs shall collate and announce the results of the elections”, states Section 158 of the Electoral Act.
Section 159 also gives the SIECs the responsibility to “declare the winners of the elections and issue certificates of return to the elected candidates.”
The 2024 Anambra State Electoral Law captures all the provisions of the Nigeria Electoral Law 2024.
But instead of commending the Anambra State’s tedious keeping with the stipulations of Nigerian law and the transparency of the processes leading to the state’s LG elections partisan interests will not let critics and the opposition hail it.
They have been persistent in hauling a plethora of questions.
They kick and fume over the length of time provided by the amendment of the Anambra State Electoral Law at the House of Assembly whereas the law states a minimum of 30-day notice and ANSIEC gave 48 days. Which means providing Anambra’s LG polls aspirants an additional 18 days to prepare.
But it is important to note that the same critics were the ones who went around town calling for the polls immediately. They were not pacified when Gov. Soludo promised to hold the elections “soon.”
Anambra State House of Assembly made all amendments to the prior electoral law well before the timetable and guidelines for the election were issued to the public. Indeed, the amendment that set the minimum notice period to 30 days was done weeks before the announcement of date of election. Interestingly, ANSIEC gave a 48 days notice, 18 days more than the minimum of 30 days in the new amendment, and only 12 days less than the 60 days in the previous version. Does that not spur the question: ‘what is the fuss about?’
However, should someone want to convince a buffoon of the nonexpediency of making hay while the sun shines in matters relating to the Anambra LG polls, would the fellow be able to explain the import of the recent Supreme Court judgment on payment of FAAC allocations directly to only LGs with elected governments? That judgement literally created a ‘state of emergency’ or SOS in LGs in such states as Anambra.
The Supreme Court clearly put some states in red letters. By ordering immediate stoppage of FAAC allocations to states without elected LG governments conducting LG elections becomes imminent in the affected areas. What this means is that without such polls, the salaries of primary school teachers, primary healthcare workers, local government staff, among others will soon not be paid there while maintenance of markets and parks will stop if the allocations stop.
In fact, the Supreme Court judgment ordered states to hold local government elections. Anambra House of Assembly, actually responded with the amended law to save the situation, ANSIEC extension of the period of notice to 48 days further helped to rub in the kind gesture of the state to ndị Anambra who have lived over a decade without elected LG governments.
But it is worth stating that pausing to pick the many holes in the critics’ condemnation of current buildup to Anambra State’s September 28, LG polls, the ANSIEC and ANHA exposes the capacity for unending mischief in some partisan quarters.