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Wednesday, 7 October 2015

Ekiti LG Polls and the Burden of Litigation

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Onthewatch
The plethora of litigations against the proposed local government elections in Ekiti State could be a major setback to the polls, writes Olakiitan Victor

In the four-year unbroken tenure of ex-governor Kayode Fayemi, no successful local government election was held in Ekiti State. This was not intentional but was caused by the court action filed by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party. The last time the people queued to elect their leaders at the third tier of government was December 20, 2008, during the regime of ex-governor Segun Oni.
Fayemi however made spirited efforts to conduct the election on February 4, 2011, but was stalled by the verdict of an Ado Ekiti High Court. 
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had gone to Court to challenge the composition of the Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission.
The PDP, being the main opposition party approached the court through its chairman, Mr.  Makanjuola Ogundipe and sought the dissolution of the SIEC as composed by the governor.  The crux of the argument then was that the Chairman of the Commission, Mrs. Cecilia Adelusi was a card-carrying member of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria.
Two days to the scheduled election for February 4, 2011, the Ekiti State High Court handed down the bombshell that some members of the electoral commission were truly members of ACN. This signed the death knell of the entire electoral process and set a pace for continued administering of the local government structures via the much vilified contraption called caretaker committees.
The conduct of local government polls was one of the centre-points of the current governor, Ayodele Fayose’s campaign. He was consistently promised to conduct local government elections. But indications that the election may be jinxed again the way it happened under Fayemi manifested the day the commission tentatively slated the election for December 19, 2015.
Though the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) was absent at the meeting, other smaller parties made adequate representations at the event. At the stormy parley, members of the opposition, under the auspices of the Inter-party Advisory Council, kicked against the date, accusing the commission of unilaterally taking decisions concerning the elections without carrying critical stakeholders along.
It was palpable on the opposition’s faces that they had an axe to grind with the commission. The SIEC’s Commissioners made efforts to pacify them and ensure that the matter was discussed behind camera, but they stoutly rejected the move and voiced out their anger. The SIEC’s Chairman, Justice Kayode Bamisile, had a hectic time pacifying the visibly livid members of the opposition, who accused the electoral body of playing double standards games. Bamisile, however, assured that the Commission would give all the political parties a level-playing field to participate in the election.
Barely five days after the announcement, factional PDP Chairman in the state, Mr. Tunde Olatunde, warned the State Independent Electoral Commission against recognising candidates presented by the embattled Peoples Democratic Party State Chairman, Mr. Idowu Faleye.
Olatunde’s faction, in a  petition dated September 21, 2015,  signed by Oluwatobi Fatoki of  Lekan Olatawura Chambers in Ado Ekiti, and addressed to the Chairman of the electoral body, Justice Bamisile, said Faleye and other caretaker committees are impostors and that the commission should stop relating with them in matters concerning electoral issues.
In the petition, Olatunde warned the commission against recognising candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party presented through Faleye, failing which it would take legal action against the Commission. The petition stated: “Our clients came about the notice of Election to wit: the Ekiti State 2015 Local Government Election as scheduled in your time table published in the national daily on September 10, 2015.
“Our clients hereby wish to lodge their reservations to the extent that their rights as the State Executive Committee are for a four year tenure, which will lapse in March, 2016 as they were duly elected into their respective offices in March, 2012. In respect of our clients’ rights, a faction of the executive committee of the PDP, spearheaded by Mr. Idowu Faleye sprang up as the factional acing Chairman. As a matter of fact, the said division in the party affecting our clients’ vested rights is already a subject of litigation before Ekiti State High Court via suit number HAD/15/ 2015.”
It is no longer news that the party has since been embroiled in factional crisis, with Olatunde, former Vice Chairman (North) senatorial district being elevated into the capacity of acting chairman, following purported resignation of Faleye. The embattled Secretary of the party, Dr. Tope Aluko said, Faleye, who succeeded Mr. Makanjola Ogundipe, sequel to his appointment as the PDP National Vice Chairman (Southwest) in acting capacity, purportedly resigned as chairman due to irreconcilable differences with SWC members.
Aluko averred that it would be a great infraction and breach of constitution for the State Electoral body to honour any correspondence forwarded to it by Faleye’s group, including the list of candidates. With the way Aluko spoke, his group is not ready to relate with the electoral body and this may constitute a constitutional snag that may mar the conduct of the polls.
In what seems like the repeat of history, hardly had the salvo fired by the factional PDP receded than the opposition APC went to Court to challenge the composition of the electoral body. This is similar to what the PDP did under Fayemi that stalled the elections for four years.
Aside the foregoing, feelers from the APC gave a clear indication that the party is not ready to participate in the polls. Some party stalwarts confided in THISDAY that they had the inkling into how the PDP had plotted to massively perpetrate electoral heist; that Fayose had at various forums taunted the party by dropping the 16-0 slogan he had always been using to deride the party.
This derision connotes how he defeated Fayemi, an incumbent, in all
the 16 local governments in the governorship poll and repeated same feat during the presidential and other elections. Fayose, from all indications, does not want the score-line depleted, more so that the APC seems to have the impression that the local government will be easy to rig by the state government.
In view of this, APC might have seen the option of litigation to stall the conduct of the polls. In a suit filed by its counsel, Abiodun Fasakin and Tajudeen Akingbolu, the party said the composition of the electoral body contradicted the constitutional requirement for a non-partisan electoral body that could organise credible elections that would be acceptable to all contesting parties.
The party alleged that members of the electoral body as constituted by the governor comprised of card-carrying members of the PDP and that such action was illegal and an invitation to chaos inherent in the electoral umpire providing support for a contesting party to the detriment of others.
Olatunbosun noted that while APC was ready to participate in the council elections, due process must be followed in the composition of the State Electoral body. The APC is not comfortable with membership of the commission, most of whom, apart from being PDP card-carrying members, are friends and business associates of Governor Fayose, Olatunbosun alleged.
Listed as PDP members on the electoral body are Justice Bamisile (rtd), who is the chairman; Victoria Olufunke Adeyera, Ganiyu Bello, Mojisola Florence Bankole, Rufus Sunday Olaiya and Olajide Vincent Adeyeye.
In its statement of claims, APC wanted a declaration that the appointment of the 5th to 10th defendants as Chairman and/or members of the 3rd defendant is null, void, illegal and unconstitutional as it violates the provisions of Sections 197, 199 (1) (c) and 200 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999  (as amended).
It also wanted a declaration that the 3rd defendant as presently constituted by the 1st defendant with the 5th to 10th defendants as Chairman and members, is not vested with legal capacity to conduct elections into the various elective offices/positions in the 16 local councils in Ekiti State.
The party further sought a declaration that the tenure of the hitherto members of the 3rd defendant as constituted in 2011 having not expired, their dissolution by the 1st defendant coupled with the appointment of the 5th to 10th defendants is null, void and unconstitutional.
Above all, APC sought an order setting aside all steps and/or actions taken by the 1st, 2nd and 4th defendants in the purported appointment and/or confirmation of the appointment of the 5th to 10th defendants.
It also sought order setting aside all steps and/or actions taken by the 5th to 10th defendants purportedly as Chairman and/or members of the 3rd defendant, ostensibly for and towards the conduct of elections into the various elective offices in the 16 local councils in Ekiti State and an injunction  restraining the 5th to 10th defendants, their agents, servants, officers, whosoever/howsoever taking  instructions from them, from conducting elections into any of the elective offices/positions in the 16 local councils in Ekiti State;
And/or from taking any further steps or embarking on any further activities ostensibly for the conduct of the aforesaid local council elections, under the guise of acting as the chairman and/or members of the 3rd defendant, forthwith.
In spite of all the snags and contrivances, the SIEC boss was optimistic that the polls would go on and be successful. Having been familiar with the turbulent nature of elections in this part of the world, Bamisile threatened that the commission would jail any person or security agency found contravening the electoral process during the election, in compliance with the dictate of the Electoral Law.
The former Chief Judge of the state, who promised that the commission would continue to defer to all political parties to conduct a free, fair and credible election, assured that no party would be unjustly treated or shut out from participating in the election. Bamisile also said whoever would participate in the elections, either at the councilorship or the chairmanship level must be a holder of School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent.
“The fact that Governor Ayodele Fayose appointed an illiterate carpenter, Mr. Olatunde Afolayan, the caretaker chairman of Moba Local Government does not make whoever has less certificate qualified for the elections. The governor only exercised his discretion in appointing that man into that position. But this one is different. This is an elective position and not appointive and what the Electoral Law specified is a minimum of school certificate,” he clarified.
He also dismissed allegation that he was a card-carrying member of a certain political party, describing it “as not only spurious but coming from frustrated minds, who only wanted to say something to derail the entire process. This is an allegation that cannot be substantiated. Those making the allegation must prove it. I can even say I have never registered as a voter in my life let alone carrying the card of a political party. I can confidently say that none of us here is a carrier of a card of any political party,” he insisted.
Now that the SIEC has set the date for the elections, with the many obstacles being mounted on its path, Ekiti people are at a cross-roads on whether there would be a repeat history, where the elections will be trapped or whether the state will have a constitutional government at the third tier that would be free from undue interference by the governor, for the masses to derive more dividends of democracy

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