Soludo breaks 10-year jinx amid dispute

The Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission will conduct elections in the 21 Local Government Areas of the state on Saturday, 10 years after such exercise was last held. IKENNA OBIANERI writes on how the journey to break the jinx began

The biggest event in Anambra State this week is the conduct of the chairmanship and councillorship elections in the 21 Local Government Areas of the state on Saturday.

Barring any exigency, over 100 candidates, it was gathered, are set to battle for the control of the 21 LGAs in the state. The LGs have been under the control of Caretaker Transition Committee chairmen since 2014, and would, perhaps, begin to feel a fresh impact of governance from elected officials from tomorrow.

Before now, the 21 LGs in the state had been under the control of Caretaker Transition Committee chairmen appointed for a specific term by the governor.

Since the announcement of the election date, ANSIEC, the electoral umpire, has been preparing for the smooth conduct of the exercise, which aims to bring governance, through the third tier of government, closer to the people at the grassroots. Such preparations included engaging with leaders of political parties, issuing timetables, schedules and guidelines for the poll, training ad hoc staff and publishing names of candidates of political parties.

According to the timetable for the exercise, political parties were expected to begin and conclude all issues relating to primaries and campaigns between August 21 and September 24, 2024.

However, since the announcement of the date for the contest and even as the date approaches, a series of controversies have continued to trail the process with the main opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Congress and the Labour Party, faulting the composition of the ANSIEC board, claiming that Governor Chukwuma Soludo did not follow due process, as enshrined in the Electoral Act 2022 while inaugurating the board.

The opposition parties, on several occasions, also raised a series of concerns, expressing fears and doubts over the ability of the electoral umpire to conduct a free, fair and unbiased election on Saturday. The three parties also threatened to boycott the exercise, accusing ANSIEC of working to announce all the candidates of the ruling All Progressive Grand Alliance as winners of the forthcoming election.

The parties alleged that ANSIEC had already pencilled names of all the CTC chairmen as APGA candidates and was getting ready to announce them as winners. They, therefore, declared the exercise as a sham.

To match their words with action, the three main opposition parties shunned any political campaigns leading to the exercise, as findings showed that only the APGA candidates have been carrying out campaigns, led by the governor, across the state.

The development means that APGA candidates might likely be contesting without any opponents on Saturday, further putting the election’s credibility in doubt.

Following widespread apprehension concerning the government’s reluctance to kick-start the process of installing democratically-elected officials at the third tier of government, an exercise that was last held in the state 10 years ago, the move did not materialise until the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment on June 20, 2024, which reaffirmed the financial autonomy of LGs in the country.

The court had ordered, among other things, that all federal accruals to the councils be remitted directly to them, thus putting paid to the much abused States/Local Government Joint Account Committee. Similarly, the apex court ruled that only LGs under the leadership of democratically elected officials will be eligible to receive monthly federal allocation.

In order not to be caught napping and to prevent the seizure of the state’s LGs allocation, Soludo, who had already reneged on his promise to conduct local council elections six months after assumption of office on March 17, 2022, kick-started the move to conduct elections for the grassroots on August 6, 2024, by inaugurating a six-member ANSIEC board, with Genevieve Osakwe as the chairman of the commission.

Inaugurating the commission, Soludo stressed that “they have been called to perform an onerous task, especially as it concerns the conduct of local government election in the state.” While stating that the law spelt out their wide range of functions, the governor asked them to expedite action and set a date for the conduct of local government election for Ndi Anambra.

He charged them to render sterling service with honour and integrity, as he recalled that the conduct of a local government election was a major promise he made to Ndi Anambra when he was inaugurated though he said drafting the law and getting the institution up and running took some time.

“The rest of the job is in your hands. The people of Anambra are expecting you to hit the ground running. When you are done, announce to the people when you will hold elections. I have done my job. Ndi Anambra, here comes your ANSIEC commissioners. With their credentials, it is expected that the commission would render first-rate action,” Soludo added.

But since the commencement of the process for the election by the ANSIEC board, the three major opposition parties – APC, PDP and LP – have continued to threaten withdrawal from the exercise, citing “irregularities and lopsidedness” in the process.

First to announce its withdrawal was the PDP, which expressed fear and concern over the ability of the electoral umpire to conduct a free, fair and unbiased election on Saturday. After the PDP had raised the concerns, the APC and LP also expressed their worries.

Speaking to our correspondent, the state APC chairman, Basil Ejidike, insisted that his party was withdrawing, saying that participating in the LG election would mean “legalising illegality.” He further insisted that the constitution of the ANSIEC and the announcement of the date for the election did not follow due process, as prescribed by the Electoral Act 2022.

Ejidike said, “How can a great party like the APC be involved in an election where political parties are not given enough time to conduct primaries to elect their candidates, no campaign rallies, no selling of forms in accordance with the Electoral Act?

“Soludo has already set up a tribunal at the Anambra State High Court, here in Awka, for political parties that wish to challenge the outcome of the election. The governor is not transparently prepared to give Ndi Anambra an accountable LG system.

“We are already in court to challenge the process, because the APC, being the major opposition party in Anambra State, must try as much as possible to live by example. The Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party have also gone to court to challenge the irregularities. We applaud them.

“We urge our members to remain focused, as the party will soon commence a tour across the 21 local government areas, as part of preparation for the 2025 governorship election in the state.”

He argued that the electoral process had been marred by irregularities, citing Section 23(1) of the ANSIEC Law 2024, which stipulates a 30-day notice period for the election, as inconsistent with Section 103(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which provides for a 150-day notice period.

Also expressing its fears and concerns, the Labour Party dissociated itself from the list of LP candidates published by ANSIEC, insisting that it did not field any candidate for the local government elections. The party alleged that the names of its candidates purportedly published by the electoral body were those of APGA members.

The state LP Chairman, Chief Ugochukwu Emeh, insisted that the names published by ANSIEC as LP candidates were unknown as neither himself nor the state secretary signed nor submitted a list of nominated candidates of the party to ANSIEC for both LG councillor and chairmanship positions.

Emeh said, “The Labour Party leadership is surprised to see strange and unknown names published by ANSIEC as LP candidates. They published names of APGA members as Labour Party candidates for the forthcoming local government election which is unacceptable to us.

“We did not sell any forms for the local government election and we did not conduct any primary election to nominate candidates. We have since boycotted the election right from inception due to some observed illegalities in the process. We had never bothered to sell nomination or expression of interest forms. We didn’t even conduct a party primary.”

Reacting to these claims on the telephone, APGA’s spokesman, Dr Tony Olisa-Mbeki, said, “ANSIEC has emphatically assured that the process will be free, fair, credible, and transparent. The unfounded allegations of pre-filled results, propagated by opposition political parties who have already resigned themselves to inevitable defeat, are nothing more than cheap propaganda intended to create a false narrative of electoral malpractice. This transparent smokescreen is designed to divert attention from their lack of preparation, strategy, and public endorsement.

“ANSIEC, as an independent and professional electoral body, is steadfastly committed to upholding the sanctity and integrity of the electoral process. Those threatening to boycott the election are merely engaging in escapism, fully aware of their impending and unavoidable defeat. Their baseless threats are the last refuge of political actors devoid of support, attempting to cast unwarranted aspersions on an electoral process they are certain to lose. Such spurious accusations are without merit, and should be summarily dismissed with the scorn and contempt they so richly deserve.”

Also reacting through the telephone, ANSIEC Commissioner-in-charge of Information and Publicity, Sir Anthony Chinedu Nnalue, insisted that the commission followed due process in the announcement of the LG poll, adding that opposition parties resorted to cheap blackmail because they were afraid of losing the election.

“Those saying ANSIEC did not follow the due process of 90 days in announcing the date for the election should go and read what ANSIEC law says. The law says 30 days while federal law says 90 days, and we are using ANSIEC laws to conduct the LG poll.

“We are committed to free, fair and credible exercise and we are a neutral body. Those feeling otherwise are those who are afraid of losing the election. We have over 100 registered candidates from various political parties and all candidates would be provided with a level-playing field. We urge Ndi Anambra to come out en masse and vote for their local government chairmen on September 28, 2024.”

The conduct of the exercise after a 10-year hiatus should ordinarily bring joy and anticipation for Ndi Anambra. Given that the governorship election will be held in the state in 2025, whichever party controls the LGs would likely have the edge over other parties in the 2025 election.