By JOAN NWAGWU, Abuja

Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take over the conduct of local government elections from the State Independent Electoral Commissions.

The National President of NULGE, Mr Aliyu Kankara, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Abuja.

Kankara said transferring responsibility for council elections to INEC would strengthen democracy and produce credible leadership at the grassroots.

“We should abolish the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) and allow INEC to conduct local government elections across the country.

“When one political party wins all the chairmanship and councillorship seats in a state that is not a credible election.

People should be allowed to vote for leaders of their choice. Once leaders know they are accountable to the people, governance at the grassroots will improve,” he said.

He said SIECs had failed to guarantee free, fair and transparent elections in many states.

According to him, the present arrangement weakens democracy because election outcomes often fail to reflect the wishes of the electorate.

Kankara said credible elections would produce local government chairmen and councillors who are accountable and committed to serving their communities.

He said elected officials should remain accountable to the electorate rather than to political leaders who influenced their emergence.

“When leaders know the people elected them, they will be accountable to the people and work for grassroots development,” he said.

Kankara said many competent Nigerians were discouraged from contesting council elections because they lacked confidence in the credibility of the process.

“Many responsible people do not want to contest because they believe the process is faulty and voters are denied the opportunity to choose their leaders,” he said.

He said credible local government elections remained essential for strengthening democratic governance, improving service delivery and promoting development at the grassroots.

Kankara expressed confidence that electoral reforms would restore public confidence in local government administration and deepen democracy across the country. (NAN)