Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa
A chairmanship candidate for Sagbama Local Government Area Council of Bayelsa state, Hon. Christopher Timi-Ogosi, has expressed worries over the continued delay to conduct the Council elections in the state. .
Hon. Ogosi, who spoke at a rally organised by Concerned Labour Party Stakeholders of Bayelsa State, in Yenagoa, also described the delayed conduct of the elections as ‘not healthy’ for the democratic development of the grassroots.
The chairmanship hopeful also questioned how the Council allocations were being utilised since the dissolution of the eight Council executives in the state.
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The group, while calling on the Prosperity administration of Governor Douye Diri not to play politics with the development of the grassroots which are the starting point of development, noted the timely conduct of the council elections in the state would go a long way to enhance the development of the rural dwellers in the state .
“It is an undisputed fact that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which created Local Governments as a third tier of Government guaranteed it’s democracy to enable it function effectively.
“Just as local government promotes democracy , democracy is required for its sustenance
“However, we have observed that Democracy has not been sustained in local government councils due to certain factors like the unnecessary delay in the conduct of election as witnessed by the prosperity administration of governor Douye Diri in Bayelsa State, and as a result, the political rights of the people to participate and control the political process at the Local level is denied and deprived.”
The group also alleged that the state governor has unduly interfered in the local government democracy to the detriment of the people.
To check the above development, the group also called for the amendment of the Constitution of Nigeria.
“To stem this tide, there is an overriding need to review and amend the constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria to guarantee political and democratic autonomy of the local government councils”.
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Quoting section 26(A) of the electoral Act, the group said that, “It is illegal for non- elected persons to occupy Council positions, administer and appropriate local government funds as this hampers grassroots development.
Timi-Ogosi, who is also leader of the group, therefore, called on Governor Diri and the Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC) to “put the necessary mechanisms in place and conduct the local government elections so that the people at the grassroots can feel the impact of government and also enjoy its dividends.”
