A non-governmental organisation, Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, CHRCR, based in Lokoja, has criticised the current administration of Governor Yahaya Bello for failure to conduct local government election since 2016.
According to a statement by the organisation’s Executive Director, Idris Miliki Abdul, the action portends a great danger to local government administration in the state.
His words: “The continuous and consistent extension of unelected local government administrators under the current administration in Kogi State is worrisome and dangerous.
“It seems the government and the governor himself do not know the implications of this action of non-conduct of local government elections in the last two and half years.”
He expressed regret that since the tenure of the last elected administration expired in May 2016, the present administration had refused to conduct local government election despite collecting billions of Naira on behalf of local governments every month from the federation account.
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“The 2016, 2017 and 2018 budgets did not make provisions for the conduct of elections into the Local Government Administrations despite the billions of Naira received by this government in Kogi State on behalf of the local government statutorily allocations.
“We challenge the government of Alhaji Yahaya Bello to publish the detail of the monies received on behalf of the local government councils from January 2016 to September 2018 and what it has done with such fund,” he said.
The group described the latest extension of the caretaker committees to oversee council administration in the state as laughable.
“Again, on the 11th of October 2018, the same Kogi State House of Assembly extended tenure of the administrators for another 6 months.
“This time around it is more laughable for the government to mention the disaster ravaging some few local governments in the state as a hindrance for the non-conduct of the local government elections when in 2018 budget, there is no single provision for the conduct of local government elections,” he added.
Abdul urged the government to put necessary machinery in motion for the conduct of council poll as posterity would judge them by their actions and inactions.
