NGF scolds Anambra, Ekiti, 16 others over non-conduct of council polls

Anambra came under fire for not conducting council polls in the last seven years of Peter Obi’s administration.

Eighteen state governors have come under fire from the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, for refusing to conduct local government election in their states.

In its report on the Peer Review Mechanism, the forum specifically scolded the Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, for his refusal to conduct council polls since he came to office about seven year ago.

It also expressed worry that elections have not been conducted at that tier of government in the South Eastern state since the return of democracy in 1999.

Ekiti State was also singled out as one of the states where council polls are yet to take place even though the governor assumed office about four years ago.

The report, which was unveiled in Abuja on Tuesday, was put together by the Forum’s Secretariat.

The report described the action of the governors as undemocratic and against the spirit of section seven of the 1999 constitution (as amended), which it said guarantees the conduct of elections in the 774 local governments of the federation.

Speaking on the report, the National Coordinator of the State Peer Review Mechanism, Afeikhena Jerome, who declined to mention the other 16 states that are yet to conduct local government elections, urged Mr. Obi to conduct the local government election, as it is one of the conditions to assess the state on transparent and credible leadership.

“The Anambra State Government needs to urgently set the machinery in motion and conduct credible local government elections,” he said.

Mr. Afeikhena, however, said that the governors of Ekiti and Anambra States blamed the non-conduct of local government election on restraining court orders.

The report also said that the internally generated revenue in Ekiti State is low and a major challenge, saying, “The government needs to strengthen its revenue collection machinery, especially the state board of internal revenue, while widening the tax base.”

He also stated that Ekiti State was reported to have generated N106 million internally in 2010 but which later rose to N1 billion.

The Peer Review Report regretted the condition of federal roads in the state, and advised the state government to mount pressure on the federal government to resuscitate the federal roads in the state.