Politicians on Tuesday in Lagos continued to react to the House of Representatives’ plan to abolish State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), describing it as a welcome development.
A cross section of them told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that SIECs existence amounted to a duplication of the functions of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Constitution Review had on July 4 recommended that the commissions should be scrapped.
Chief Gboyega Adeniji, the Secretary-General of South-West Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), alleged that state commissions were manipulated by controlling authorities to the disadvantage of the opposition parties.
“The recommendation is a good development for our democracy. State electoral bodies are manipulated by some state governors during council elections.
“If they are scrapped, INEC should take over their functions for fairness,’’ he said.
Bishop Gabriel Omoruyi, the spokesman for the Lagos State Chapter of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), also supported the recommendation.
He said: “I support the scrapping of SIECs and that INEC should take over the conduct of local government elections.
“This will promote free and fair elections in the country, particularly at the grassroots.
“Hardly can you find opposition parties win councillorship and chairmanship polls in the states.’’
A former member of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Mr Mohammed Oyefeso, described SIECs as a waste of public funds.
“Some governors make unnecessary trips abroad under the pretext of printing ballot papers for their commissions.
“If you observe all the elections so far conducted by SIECs in some states, parties in power usually sweep all the council seats and leave one or two for the opposition.
“But if pressure is put on INEC, I believe it can do better because facts and figures have shown that INEC is a bit fair in the conduct of elections,” he said.
Oyefeso, a lawyer, said that INEC had not declared all the results of the 36 states in the previous elections for the ruling party – the PDP.
“For instance, the ACN won six states; Labour Party won one; APGA two, ANPP has three, PDP 23 and CPC one.
“The reverse is the case in elections conducted by state commissions where the ruling party wins all the wards and chairmanship seats.”
The former National Youth Leader of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), Malam Abdulrahman Bafa, also said: “It is a good idea to do away with SIECs, but INEC should be truly independent.
“I wish to suggest that members of INEC should be appointed by other arms of the government and not the executive, to make it truly independent.’’
Bafa suggested that funding of INEC should also reflect the independent status being sought for it.
