How Governors Tighten Control Over Local Governments Through Dubious Elections, Despite Supreme Court Ruling

Since the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on July 11, declaring that local governments must be funded only through democratically elected councils, 18 states have held local government elections, while nine others have scheduled theirs. However, the elections have raised serious concerns about the credibility of local governance, with many accusing state governors of manipulating the polls to maintain control over local governments.

The Supreme Court’s ruling aimed to end the unconstitutional practice of governors appointing unelected caretaker committees to run local governments. The court struck down Section 162(6) of the 1999 Constitution, allowing local governments to receive federal funds directly, bypassing the state governments. Justice Emmanuel Agim, delivering the judgment, stressed that direct funding is necessary because state governments have failed to ensure democratic local governance.

Despite the court’s clear directive, the elections that followed in several states have been widely criticized. Many opposition parties and civil society groups rejected the results, calling them fraudulent. In most cases, the ruling parties in the states swept all the seats in the local elections, raising questions about the integrity of the process.

For example, in Sokoto State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) won all 23 chairmanship positions and 244 councillorship seats. This result mirrored similar outcomes in other states, where ruling parties emerged victorious in every local government, despite narrowly winning or even losing gubernatorial elections in the previous year.

Of the 18 elections conducted since July, ruling parties dominated the polls with two notable exceptions: Akwa Ibom and Rivers states. In Akwa Ibom, the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won 31 out of 32 local councils but lost the Senate President’s home local government to the APC. In Rivers, the newly emergent Action People’s Party (APP) won 22 out of 23 local governments, allegedly backed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who is at odds with the state’s PDP leadership.

The recent elections highlight the recurring problem of governors’ influence over State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), which are tasked with conducting local government elections. Analysts and election observers argue that SIECs lack the independence needed to ensure fair elections, as they remain under the control of incumbent governors. The 2018 and 2021 local government elections in Kaduna State, which allowed for some opposition victories under electronic voting, appear to be an exception rather than the rule, as the state’s most recent elections again saw a clean sweep by the ruling APC.

Civil society group YIAGA Africa condemned the recent local government polls as a “travesty,” calling for urgent reforms. Former House of Representatives member Ali Ahmad noted that while the Supreme Court has ended the use of caretaker committees, governors have now turned to staging sham elections to legitimize their control over local governments.

The ongoing debate centers on whether responsibility for local government elections should be transferred from the SIECs to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or a newly created federal body. Proponents argue that this would curb governors’ undue influence and restore credibility to local government elections. Others, however, warn that centralizing the administration of local elections could undermine the principles of federalism.

A bill currently before the Senate seeks to establish a National Independent Local Government Electoral Commission (NILGEC). However, election expert Jide Ojo opposes this move, citing concerns about INEC’s capacity to manage elections in 768 local governments and six area councils. He instead advocates granting SIECs greater autonomy to ensure fairer elections over time.

The path forward remains uncertain. Scrapping the SIECs would require a constitutional amendment, which would need support from two-thirds of the state assemblies—a challenge, given the influence of governors over their respective legislatures. As governors continue to exert control over local governments through questionable elections, the prospect of genuine local government autonomy remains elusive, even in the face of Supreme Court intervention.

The debate over how to reform local government elections—whether through empowering INEC or restructuring SIECs—continues to dominate discussions, with advocates on both sides offering differing visions for the future of local governance in Nigeria.