The Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders, (CONYL,) has said that the Supreme Court verdict on local government [LG) autonomy will be an exercise in futility should state governors be allowed to continue conduct of elections in the local governments.
CNYL stated that the state governors as a way of running foul of the judgment of the apex court on local government funds have now resorted to hand picking Council Chairmen in the guise of conducting elections in the local governments.
Perturbed by the elections held in some local governments in the states since the supreme court judgement was given, the group dismissed them as a mockery of democracy.
The President General of the group, Goodluck Ibem, in a statement said that with what had happened so far, the third tier was still tied to the apron string of the governors.
“I don’t think that what is happening now reflects the true nature of what Nigerians wanted when they demanded full autonomy for the local governments.
“Governors are handpicking people and asking state electoral Commissions to return them as elected in kangaroo elections. This is sad and a serious minus to our democracy.
“The recent Supreme Court verdict spelling out the powers, authority and autonomy of the local governments cannot be fully in force and operation if the state governors continues to conduct LG elections using state electoral commissions.
“To allow state governors to continue to conduct LG polls is equivalent to appointing caretaker committee Chairmen by the governors which is an aberration and a travesty.
“The LG chairmen who are declared winners by state electoral commissions are stooges and loyalists of the state governors who do their biddings by returning the LG funds back to them through the back door while pretending to be independent when there are not.”
The group asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly to make necessary constitutional amendments to ensure that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducts LG elections as was done in 1999.
“True LG autonomy will only be in force only when INEC conducts her elections which will make it difficult for any Governor to impose any candidate of his choice as is been done presently by Governors through the instrumentality of state electoral commissions,” the group said.