If you have seen the news coming out of Rivers State and the drama between Nyesom Wike and Sim Fubara, chances are you have asked yourself why both men are rolling in the mud over mere Local Government (LG) elections. The straight answer is that levels have changed. Let’s give you the whole story.
The states bullied the LGs
In Nigeria, there are three tiers of government: federal, state, and local government. Just like federal and state, local governments also have their own unique functions, importance, and powers but for the longest time, we barely recognised them because didn’t allow them to flex their muscles like their counterparts.
According to the Nigerian constitution, local government councils are supposed to take care of things like the construction and maintenance of roads, public highways, streetlights, parks, and drains. They also have the duty of collecting rates, radio, and television licenses, assessments of privately owned houses for the purpose of levying, naming of roads, streets, and a bunch of other functions.
Also, under the Nigerian constitution, LGs, just like states are supposed to get money from the federation account to carry out their duties but the State government had this habit of pocketing everything and leaving the LGs high and dry. For context, states and their LGs usually shared a joint account where the FG paid in money monthly but instead of the states taking their 26.72% cut and moving on, they usually seized the 20.60% belonging to LGs, leaving them broke and powerless.
Additionally, LGs are supposed to hold independent elections every 3 years for citizens to pick their council chairmen but this barely happened and when it did, state governors simply suspended the democratically elected chairmen and replaced them with glorified errand boys known as Caretaker Committee so instead of active councils working for the people, we had lifeless councils whose monies were seized by state governors, representatives replaced by proxies, and duties to the people left undone.
The Supreme Court stepped in
Nigeria’s federal government probably got tired of watching the whole mess because, in May of 2024, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi sued all 36 States in court for disrespecting the constitution. Two months later in July, they won the suit as the Supreme Court gave a ruling affirming the financial autonomy of local governments in the country and declaring Caretaker Committees the frauds that they are.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) also stood on business because after this ruling, its Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu said that “local governments must be politically independent, and any state-level official who violates this Supreme Court decision will be held accountable for gross misconduct and abuse of office.”
A new dispensation and what it means for the people
Now, the “G” in local governments is no longer invisible because they can actually carry out their duties. Before the Supreme Court’s judgments, about 21 States were running their LGs with Caretaker Committees but now that they have been outlawed, those states have had to carry out elections- this is why there has been a wave of local government elections across the country in the past months. They may not have trended as much as the Rivers election but this year, a total of 19 States have conducted their local government with more expected to follow
In plain terms, here’s what this means for you:
- Local governments can make their own decisions and carry out their own projects.
- Local government will now receive funding directly from the federal government.
- Expect better roads, schools, healthcare, and other services at the local level.
- You can finally get that pothole fixed because you have a more direct path to holding your local representatives accountable.
- Local government elections will now be held every 3 years without fail- you get to vote!
- You can finally have personal meetings with your representatives- take the problem directly to them if you want to. The benefits are endless.
Why have the elections become a big deal for politicians?
For politicians like Wike and Fubara’s part, having their person win means having the soul of the state in their palms.
Before the Supreme Court ruling affirming the autonomy of local governments, the current fight between Wike and Fubara wouldn’t even be happening because all Fubara had to do was appoint a Caretaker Committee who would be in his pocket but since that is now illegal, the electoral process of selecting LG Council Chairmen opened up a new avenue for Wike to get back the control that Fubara was taking away from him, hence the recent violence.
So while the Rivers local government election has taken over the news (mainly because of the history between Wike and Fubara), it is also a reminder of just how much power has been given to local government. Now, LGs are no longer a formality- they matter. This also means that now, Nigerians know what to expect, and who to hold accountable when those things are not done.
