By UGONNIA ANYADUBALU

State Police: Part 1, item 45 of Exclusive Legislative List

1. Exclusive Legislative List Part 1 item 22 which excludes the conduct of local Government election from the control of Federal Government and by extension INEC. I advocate a full presidential system of government at the Local Government Councils and where their elections will be conducted by INEC like the latter does for House of Assembly, National Assembly etc.

We are witnesses to a situation where the Governors bluntly refused to organize a local Government election and where the few hold the election, the fairness of such election is always in doubt. The question that will continue to agitate discerning minds is why parties win elections in a State but when the Local Government election is organized, the same parties hardly win any Local Government seat.

2. To ensure the independence of the Local Government system, section 162(7)(8) of 1999 constitution should be amended to grant financial autonomy to the Local Government councils wherein they will receive their allocations directly from federation account.

The present situation of joint State and Local Government account is very attractive to the Governors who in order to retain the hinge resources meant for all the local Government councils in that states refuse to organize election or run the local Government through care taker committee and appoint their surrogates who cannot question than to run the Local Governments.

In a situation like above, the growth of democracy is stultified. Local Government is the closest tier of government to the people and should be promoted. It should also serve as a training ground for budding politicians. Democracy at that level should be encouraged therefore Governors who refuse to conduct local Government election are greatest enemies of democracy.

The third provision is Part II B which creates independent State Electoral Commission should be deleted in view of the transfer of the function to INEC.

CROSS CARPETING

My position is that it is immoral for a person who is elected under a platform to abandon the platform and join another platform without resigning from the position. Section 68 (1)(g) and section 109 (g) prohibit that though they provide a leeway that allows cross-carpeting as a result of a division in the  political  party of which a parliamentarian was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored.

This proviso though commendable but it has been abused. We witness a situation whereby members of legislative House cross-carpet from minority party to a ruling party in the State or Federal Government without any qualms irrespective of whether there is any faction or merger in the party they were previously sponsored.

The only  protection is that their new party is the ruling party therefore nobody will ask them to vacate their seats as provided in section 68 (1) and 109 (1) 1999 constitution as amended.

My take therefore is that since we now operate tyranny of the majority in this case, let us delete the proviso so that any member of the Legislative House whether National or State shall vacate the seat if he joins another political party except the party he was elected into the seat.

STATE CREATION

I advocate that the amendment of section 3(1) and or First Schedule of the 1999 constitution to include a State from the South- East. Equity is Equality therefore out all the six Zones in the country, the South-East has the least number of States (5) five as against Six (6) or even seven (7) by other zones.

The same South –East has the least number of Local Government Areas yet the local government system forms part of the distribution of the commonwealth. South – Easterners are being cheated in the distribution of the Federal allocation and other common wealth.

It would be recalled that during President Obasanjo’s regime, a State was approved for South- East but this was scuttled because of the fear of third term.

This is therefore another opportunity for the hallowed Green and Red Chambers to right the wrong by creating a State for South-East

•Mr. Anyadubalu, a lawyer cum prolific writer, writes from 129 Okota Road Lagos.