ITV Debate on Local Government Status and Constitutional
Reforms in Nigeria: Expectations from L.G Chairmen of the 7th Republic: Focus
on the Edo L.G Polls of 20th April 2013. Discussants: His Excellency
Prince Frank Ukonga SDMP Chairman Edo, Hon. Victor Ogba-NCP Chairman Edo, Hon.
Tony Osazuwa- Special Adviser to the Government of Edo state: Moderator Mr.
Wilson held on the 14th April 2013@ ITV studio Benin.
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| Edo state governorship polls adjudged the best in Nigerian history was conducted free by INEC |
ITV Wilson: It is my pleasure to welcome to the studio His
Excellency Prince Frank Ukonga SDMP Chairman Edo state, Hon. Tony Osazuwa
Special Adviser to the House of Assembly of Edo state and Hon. Victor Ogba
Chairman NCP Edo state.
ITV: Mr. Wilson: His Excellency Prince Frank Ukonga, the Edo
state Local government election is only a few days away and there has been
cases of war between rivals political parties of A CN and the PDP and two
people have been killed and many hospitalized with billions of Naira worth of
properties destroyed. What exactly should we expect of Elected Local government
chairmen?
SDMP: H.E. Prince Frank Onaivi Ukonga: Before I go on with my arguments I want to make a point clear to the
entire world about the relationship between our party SDMP and the incumbent
government of A CN in Edo state. Both SDMP and A CN are progressive parties and
we allied together in the governorship polls of 2012, SDMP are proud of comrade
Adams Oshimhole’s giant strides in the infrastructural development of Edo state
and his investment in Education in the state, his health and IGR programs but
we disagree only on the matters of the Local government elections.
SDMP: H.E Prince Frank Ukonga: Our answer to you question: You
should not expect anything spectacular from any Local Government Chairmen in
the context of quality service delivery to the electorate of the 7th Republic
because they are under slavery and bondage of the governors. In January this year
2013, I wrote a thesis to the President of the Nigeria federation, the House of
Representative and the Senate about the imperatives of the autonomy of the Local
Government in the constitutional amendment if we want them to perform and be responsible
for their decisions as developmental centers addressed to trickle down the
dividends of democracy to the grass root. The presidency backed my dissertation
and the President His Excellency President Goodluck Jonathan vowed to pursue the
autonomy of the local Governments in the constitutional review exercise.
Professor Bolaji Akinyemi the renowned Nigerian Ambassador and former foreign Affairs Minister also backed me,
Senator Ike Ikweremadu, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, senator Smart Adeyemi and many others are all backing me to make
sure that in the new amendment of the constitution the local government are
granted full autonomy. It was only Governor Rotimi Ameachi Chairman of
Governors Forum that is objecting my proposals..
Furthermore my proposals will translate to the followings?
1) Separations of state/ local government accounts
2) Local government to be recognized constitutionally as
federating units
3) From the no2 above Local government polls nationally to
be conducted by INEC the federal government electoral body and the subsequent
dissolution of all state electoral bodies. Once the constitution recognizes the
Local Government as federating units then it is the duty and responsibility of
the federal Government to conduct elections into federating units. This is
truth self evident. So the constitutional amendments should remove that clause
from the duties of the governors to constitute an electoral body for states and
be amended to being privileged to participate in counterpart funding of Local
government polls organized by INEC while the new proposed INEC will absorb all
states electoral bodies into one big formidable strong electoral institution.
4) All state/ local government counterpart projects which are
the source by which governors encroach on L.G. Funds are thenceforth going to
be optional to L.G.
5) On no account should a state governor dissolve the
elected Local government Chairmen and appoint his cronies and man Friday to
take control of the L.G and begin to loot the L.G. Treasuries.
These are the major points of vexation and the reason why there
is no development in the grass root and also the reason why no local government
chairman can be held accountably to the electorate. The governors have enslaved
them in everlasting bondage tinkering with their statutory allocations, grants,
ecological funds, SURE-P Petroleum subsidy funds and all other sources of
funding of the LG. And above all the governors have gone a borrowing and a sorrowing;
mortgaging the state accounts as well as the LG. Account as security and lien
to private capitalist lending, banks and foreign financial institutions. And in
this context most state governors domiciliate the control of the accounts of
the state/ L.G. joint accounts to these lenders unilaterally and collect huge
loans without the knowledge of the L.G. Chairmen. This is blatant breach of
constitution and a miss use of power. So I have advised the Association of the
Local Government Chairmen-ALGON- to go to court to seek for clarification and
to pursue the ideals of the five points I have mentioned above and the
following week in February2013 they heeded my advice and they have gone to
court. And hopefully the court will decide in their favor.
Note: Pls the above
thesis is an academic and scientific disputation based on the Theories of the
German Philosopher Leibniz as in “Nihil Est Nihil fit”- which is the aphorism
of universal causality of things in themselves- as nothing comes out of
nothing- as well as on the theories of Emmanuel Kant’s universality of the
theories of reason and immanent purpose-you should not expect anything from a
deontological system” You can only expect something from a teleological system
which translate to setting the captive free and holding him responsible and
accountable for his / her actions and that was the reason God granted mankind
free will. So that God can judge us and hold us accountable for our actions. So
for now not until when the Senate amends the constitution to set the Local
Government free from slavery do not expect anything from local government
chairmen, nor should you expect dividend of democracy and development to reach
the grass root peoples.
ITV: Wilson: Hon
Tony Osazuwa: what’s your stake on the autonomy of the local governments in the
constitutional review exercise?
A CN :Tony Osazuwa: I agree fully with His Excellency Prince
Frank Ukonga on the need for autonomy for the Local Government and I will add
that the states Houses of Assemblies all over the 36 states also demands
autonomy: both financial autonomy and some level of independence to be able to
stand on their two legs and deliver quality services to the polity.
ITV: Wilson: Hon. Victor Ogba: what’s your stake on the
issue of expectations form Local Government Chairmen?
NCP: Hon Victor Ogba: Well the expectations of the peoples
are very high from the coming Chairmen and councilors in the aspects of quality
service delivery to the peoples of Edo state. We are not saying that they
should come and repair all the bad infrastructures particularly Local
government roads that are seriously in bad shapes but at least we are expecting
them to grade the roads and make them motor able. And again they should known
that posterity and history will continue to witness those who performed and
those who did not: though by the convincing analysis of His Excellency Prince
Frank Ukonga about the dilemma of the Local Government Chairmen which inhibit
them from being able to deliver quality services to the electorate but then
with what ever little they are able to raise they should do their best.
ITV Mr. Wilson: A number of people are exercising fears that
Edsiec the Edo state electoral institution may not be able to conduct a free
and fair election as to the saying that he who pays the piper dictates the
tune: what’s your stake on this His Excellency Prince Frank Ukonga
SDMP:H.E. Prince Frank Ukonga: Our views at SDMP is very
clear about this which I expressed last week when the INEC Commissioner of Edo
state Hon. Bator Kpagi, Hosted Me and other stakeholders in Edo state political
economy and governance. In this context according to the laws of Roberts Green
49 steps of power which states that when you get to an institution and there
are barriers and steel doors to frustrate you from coming inside you should not
force your way inside because more barriers will be put in place for you not to
access the inner rooms. So the barriers and steel doors placed in the Edo LG Polls
by Edsiec of 100,000 Naira deposit and that of 780,000 naira tax clearances as
well as the screening barriers and other indigene requirements are all the kind
of barriers addressed to shortchange other political parties and candidates
from been eligible to contest the polls.Niger state conducted their own LG.
elections and it was free, the Niger state governor His Excellency Aliyu
Babangida supported all other parties by assisting them with cars, jeeps and
funds, same the Kaduna state governor the Late Patrick Yakowa did and the Kogi
state and about 17 states have conducted free polls without charging a peny
from candidates in the past 12 months and our allocation in Edo and IGR is
higher than most of these states. Though this constitutional amendment , done
in a hurry by the incumbent government in power, alienating other political parties
and credible individuals with portable war chest from being able to contest the
election. The incumbent in power can sponsor their entire candidates as they
are in power and in government. That is why; of the almost 10 political parties
that has presence in Edo state only about 5 put up candidates; and of the 210
positions being contested which will translate to 2100 candidates from all the
political parties if their were not barriers but now only about 500 candidates
are contesting the Edo state local government polls which is less than21% of
the total expected candidates. And the bulk of them are from the incumbent party
that presents 210 candidates about 45 % of contestants. This translate that the
polls has being manipulated constitutionally by the incumbent party to its favor.
So the Laws of Robert Green states that in this type of scenario you as a new party
can only participate by going into negotiations with the incumbent party that
kept those barriers in place. That is horse trading. Which we did at SDMP, but
our entreaties were rejected and we decided to step aside following the laws of
Roberts Green. Lastly the only other option is to go to court. But then the PDP
are forcing their way into the schemes of things and according to the laws of
Roberts Green they will meet with more obstacles and barriers and at the end
loss out wasting their time, money and energies.
ITV: Mr. Wilson: His Excellency Prince Frank Ukonga , are
you saying that the election have been rigged by the incumbent.
SDMP: H.E. Prince frank Ukonga: I have not said so. It is
you that have just arrived at that conclusion axiomatically. All I did was to
position all the premises of the polls before you and the entire Nation and the
whole world in the Aristotelian argumentum of Reducio de Absurdum so that you
and the Nigeria peoples and all peoples of the world can deduce their rational
inferences on their own in their various soliloquies …and you have just
expressed your own doubts and conclusions. So that has nothing to do with
Prince Frank Ukonga ; the Prince of Kukuruku provinces, principalities and
powers.
ITV: Mr. Wilson: Hon Tony Osazuwa: What’s your assessment of
Edsiec in conducting free and fair polls?
A CN: Hon. Tony Osazuwa: I believe they would conduct a good
free and fair polls because even in the screening exercise it was candidate
from the incumbent party of A CN that was first disqualified and the members of
the Edsiec are not member of the A CN party and we all know that they are men
and women of integrity and to me they have proved beyond reasonable doubts that
they will deliver on promises of a great free and fair polls come April 2013.
NCP: Hon: Victor Ogba: What’s your stake on the question of
Edsiec being able to conduct a free and fair polls in this April 20 2013 LG.
polls of Edo state.
NCP: Hon Victor Ogba: As I have said earlier the Edsiec have
a date with history. The electorates are expectant and anxious to see they
perform and if they do it is to their credit and if they fail it is also to
their demise. Later we shall all meet in the streets and in public function and
say ahaa this ware the peoples that conducted a free and fair polls in Edo
state if they perform and it they fail history will also judge them
accordingly.
ITV: Mr. Wilson: What are your parting words for the youth
that are restive and causing violence in the elections of Edo LG, His
Excellency Prince Frank Ukonga.?
SDMP: H.E. Prince Frank Ukonga: The only way to organize a
free and fair election in any polity is to remove those barriers kept in by Edsiec
and the exorbitant prohibitive tax barriers, the barriers of indigeneship and screening.
INEC the federal electoral body of the Nigerian federation never kept these
barriers in place that was why the Edo state governorship polls was fair, free
and peaceful. When you bring in barriers and steel doors constitutionally as in
emergency election edicts and tax clearances of obnoxious questionable standard
practices you are frustrating more than 99% of Edo peoples not to be able to
contest elections but you want them to come out and vote in an election were
they are not qualified to contest as candidates because of the stiff regulations where less
than 21% of their son and daughters were only qualified to contest as
candidates in an election that should present at least 2100 contesting
candidates. And the quality of an election also depend on the number of
candidates and the variety of choice presented to the peoples and this will
impact negatively on the overall assessment of the promotional ability of the electoral
body-Edsiec. In an election were an electoral body could only present less than
21% of expected contestants, I doubt if any reasonable jury of intelligent
people would adjudged that level of achievement as adequate in international
and even local standard practice as to adjudged as having passed in a multi
party democracy. And already two people have lost their lives and properties
worth billions destroyed due to all these stiff concurentia. So the only way
forward is to go back to status quo anti bellum of removing, the entire
constitutional and tax barriers and indigene barriers as well as screening
barriers .it is only then you can anchor true democracy in Edo state and in the
Nigerian federation. But with this kind of milieu it will disfranchise a vast
majority of Nigerians from participating in polls when Ekiti state introduced
those obnoxious barriers Barrister Femi Falana took then to court and stopped
those barriers. And that is what we should have done as well in the case of Edo
state. This our culture of timidity and silence in Edo state will set a
negative example to other states as in Delta state and Gombe state have started
to copy the Edo state scenario and in no time the entire 36 states will catch
up with it and other African states and emerging democracies of the world
addressed for the incumbent party to perpetuate itself in power for ever
constitutionally. And that is why we appeal to the Oba of Benin HRH, and the
Crown Prince of Benin and all other stakeholders to re examine this issue
properly and advice the incumbent party appropriately. As these novae, diabolical,
potent grave danger, for the growth of democracy, in Nigeria, Africa, and the
entire world.
ITV. Mr. Wilson: Hon. Osazuwa: what are your parting words
for the restive youth of Edo State?
A CN: Tony Osazuwa: I will advise the restive youth of Edo
state to allow peace to reign and be rest assured that we shall conduct a free
and fair election in the state. I also advice them to conduct themselves,
peaceful and to drop the act of fighting and violence.
Well thank you gentlemen for attending this great program on
Local Government constitutional Reforms: focus on the Edo state LG Polls of
April 20 2013. And we are expectant that the polls will be free and fair as
well as peaceful. We thank our viewer in Nigeria and the entire world for
staying tuned.
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