By Tony Edike

Chairman of the Enugu State Independent National Electoral Commission, ENSIEC, Dr. Ben Eneh has accused states that have failed to conduct the local government elections in their areas of violating the 1999 Constitution, saying that  polls at the third tier of government should be held to strengthen democracy in the country.

Eneh spoke yesterday, in Enugu, while presenting Certificates of Return, CoR, to the newly elected 17 local government council chairmen and 260 councillors in the state.

The ENSIEC Chairman said  the third tier of government in the state had performed well in the area of rural development, stressing that the people of the state had benefited immensely from the councils.

He then urged them to continue to deliver ‘’democracy dividends’’ to enable the people of the state have absolute confidence in the democratic process.

Eneh  said that the state government provided the necessary resources that ensured the smooth conduct of the council polls and expressed satisfaction with the electoral process that threw up the council helmsmen.

According to Eneh, the local government elections were conducted in line with the 1999 Constitution.
Also speaking, the re-elected Chairman of Enugu North Local Government Area, Mr. Emeka Edeh, said that the numerous achievements recorded by the various local governments under the Sullivan Chime administration, were made possible by the non-interference of the state government in the affairs of the councils.

His words: “We thank Governor Chime for giving us the enabling environment to discharge our duties. We also thank the people of Enugu State for their confidence and support to the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. The governor has created an enabling environment for the councils to function well and we must live above board to justify the confidence reposed in us.

“The independence of local government areas in Enugu State is not in doubt. In Enugu State our governor is following the rule of law. You can see by yourself the roads we are doing, the health care facilities and scholarships we are giving to people. Our human empowerment programmes, social amenities and infrastructure are done because we collect our allocations freely from source.”