GOVERNORS SAY NO TO SCRAPING OF STATE INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSIONS CALL FOR REFORMS IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AS GOVERNORS CALEB MANASSEH MUTFWANG OF PLATEAU AND ABDULLAHI SULE OF NASSARAWA STATE DECLARE AT 13TH FOSIECON DELEGATE CONFERENCE IN JOS, NIGERIA.By Onjefu Odaudu,Jos Nigeria.

The 13th delegate conference of the Forum of State Independent Election Commissions of Nigeria (FOSIECON) with the theme "Local Government Elections in Nigeria: Issues, Opportunities and Challenges" kicked off in Jos the Plateau State Capital on Wednesday May 21 2025  at the Crispan Hotel and Suites with a call to strengthen Electoral processes at the third tier of government to drive forward the concept of autonomy.

Delivering a keynote address Proffesor Sam Egwu the INEC resident electoral commissioner in Benue state said.

"It is wrong to set up a binary narrative of elections at the national level on the one hand and at the local government level on the other that touts INEC as the saint and SIEC's as the devil this is not to deny that INEC has conducted more credible elections until 2011 INEC delivered the worst forms of elections that lacked the core democratic principle of indeterminacy of outcome until elections have been determined"

"It operated at the behest of ruling parties and incumbent Presidents since then INEC has benefitted from a series of reforms and institutional transformation"

He posited that this came about as a result of pressure mounted by Civil Society Organizations and Nigeria's development partners.

Special guest of honour at the conference H.E Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nassarawa State who also doubles as the Chairman of the North Central Governors Forum noted that he alongside his fellow governors across the country were determined to find ways of synergy with local councils across the 36 states of the federation frowning at calls to scrap the SIEC's calling it retrogressive and against the true spirit of federalism.

Declaring the delegate conference open the host governor H.E Barrister Caleb Mannaseh Muttwang also spoke along the same vein while observing that during the last local government elections in Plateau State certain standards were met while not perfect but a better milestone from the not too distant past where candidates were sworn in as council chairmen while votes were still being collated.

Governor Caleb Mannaseh Muttwang said having served as a local government chairman he was aware that the system needed systemic reforms to engender confidence that indeed states can conduct their own elections in a free and transparent manner devoid of external manipulations citing his own local government in Mangu where an opposition candidate won a council seat by virtue of being the most popular and the choice of the people.

Like his Nassarawa counterpart he called on INEC to work with SIEC's to ensure a seamless transition at the third tier of government through manpower, capacity and technological advancements.

Earlier the Chairman of FOSIECON, Chief Barr. Jossy Chibundu Eze who is also the Chairman of the Ebonyi State Independent electoral commission said he and other members of the forum were delighted to be in Jos "The home of peace and Tourism" and praised the warm welcome accorded all the delegates to the 13th conference.

PLASIEC Chairman Hon. Plangji Daniel Cishak welcomed his colleagues to Jos despite the misgivings about the security situation in the state assuring them that Plateau as always remains a destination where neither tribe nor creed is discriminated and as always a place that accommodates every Nigerian. 

The 13th delegate conference of FOSIECON is scheduled to end on Friday 23 May 2025 when a communique will be issued by the body.