NIGERIA’S local government elections have become a national embarrassment, a carefully orchestrated charade where the outcomes are a ghastly farce.

State governors must choose to be on the right side of history by directing their State Independent Electoral Commissions to urgently overhaul the LG electoral process to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections.

Another troubling development is the forthcoming LG election in Lagos State, scheduled for July 12. The process has been plagued by controversy and confusion.

Political parties, under the Inter-Party Advisory Council, have criticised the rushed passage of the law authorising elections in the 57 LGAs and local council development areas, as well as alleged delays and disruptions in communication by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission.

The African Action Congress, Young Peoples Party, and others have raised concerns about the high cost of nomination forms issued by LASIEC, which demands N150,000 and N75,000 for chairmanship and councillorship posts, respectively.

Within the ruling All Progressives Congress, nomination forms are set at an even steeper N5.5 million and N1 million for chairmanship and councillorship seats.

Such exorbitant fees undermine the spirit of public service, encouraging winners to focus on recouping their investment rather than serving the people.

Civil society organisations like Yiaga Africa and Enough is Enough have emphasised the need for political groups in Lagos to seek legal clarity on the status of the LCDAs.

Allegations of candidate imposition persist within the ruling party, with petitions flooding the state executive council.

The Labour Party faces even greater internal division, being factionalised at the national level.

While LASIEC has sought INEC’s advice regarding the conduct of primaries by the three LP factions in the state, its failure to enforce proper primary processes or credible consensus within parties demonstrates a lack of efficiency.

Lagos, with its history in the struggle for democracy, should serve as a beacon for democratic values.

Indeed, the way LG polls are conducted in President Bola Tinubu’s home state has broader implications for the 2027 general elections.

Nigerians must begin to curb the excesses of political strongmen by strengthening institutions through civil scrutiny and grassroots participation.

There had been controversies over the past LG elections conducted by LASIEC.

There is still time for LASIEC to address these issues. The commission must continually engage all election stakeholders, ensure a level playing field for all political parties, and strive to boost voter turnout.

Therefore, LASIEC must avoid being perceived as an extension of the ruling APC. It should be resolute in conducting seamless, free, fair, and credible elections, acting as an impartial arbiter at the polls.

Following the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement granting financial and administrative autonomy to LGs, 11 states, including Ebonyi, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Sokoto, Kwara, and Benue, have held LG elections to ensure direct allocation of funds from the Federal Allocation Accounts Committee.

Yet, these elections remain fraught with irregularities, low voter turnout, violence, and suppression of opposition parties.

In many states, the overwhelming influence of governors and ruling parties results in sweeping victories for their loyalists, with opposition parties routinely rejecting the results.

In Anambra, the All Progressives Grand Alliance won all chairmanship and councillorship positions in all 21 LGs, while the Labour Party alleged that APGA members were listed as their candidates and nomination forms were not made available by the state electoral commission.

The Peoples Democratic Party and the APC rejected the results, vowing to challenge them in court.

In Ebonyi, the courts nullified the entire LG elections due to irregularities, with the Court of Appeal upholding the Federal High Court’s decision to void the polls across 13 LGAs.

The July 2024 polls saw the APC sweep all LGs amid reports of voter apathy.

In Bauchi, the PDP won all 20 LGAs, but the APC and Peoples Redemption Party rejected the August 2024 results, describing the process as fraudulent and undemocratic.

Akwa Ibom’s LG polls were relatively peaceful, with the ruling party winning 30 LGs and the APC one. However, the election was marred by low turnout, late arrival of materials, and violent incidents.

Two fatalities were recorded in Ikono LGA, and the torching of the state electoral commission office in Ibiono Ibom LGA.

In Kwara, the APC claimed victory in all 16 LGAs and 193 wards in the September 2024 polls, but the PDP expressed grievances about the process, which was also marked by low turnout and delayed materials.

This cycle of flawed elections highlights Nigeria’s ongoing destruction of democratic values. While the Supreme Court judgement was intended to mark a turning point, persistent sabotage suggests the LG system may remain crippled.

This has dire implications for grassroots development, as governors and ruling parties undermine LG autonomy through compromised elections and complicit state electoral commissions.

A financially and administratively autonomous LG council should deliver good governance, quality social services, and essential infrastructure to the grassroots.

However, these outcomes are continually stifled by electoral sabotage. LG chairmen and councillors play a critical role in mobilising political support for their parties during general elections. Many prominent politicians began their careers at the local level before rising to higher office.

With the resources now available to LGs, the quality of their elections will determine whether development or corruption thrives at the grassroots.

Citizens must therefore pay close attention to LG polls, as they are the closest conduit for good governance, civic engagement, and sustainable development.

Poor choices, voter apathy, and indifference to LG affairs will only lead to further setbacks. All states should conduct LG polls, and those yet to do so must learn from the failures of the 11 states that have already held problematic elections.

Governors, state electoral commissions, and civil society organisations must launch robust campaigns to educate citizens on the importance of LGs and their civic responsibilities, moving beyond empty rhetoric to practical action.

Citizens and CSOs must collectively resist the legitimisation of predetermined outcomes by ruling parties and their allies in state electoral commissions.

Citizens should participate in the polls and assert their civic rights. Civil society and the media must approach LG elections with the same seriousness as national and state contests.

Nigerians must recognise that politics, policy, and good governance begin in their neighbourhoods, not in Abuja or the state capitals.

Ultimately, without true federalism, the LG system is doomed. Instead of pursuing pyrrhic solutions at the Supreme Court, Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the parliament, and truly patriotic Nigerians should settle for nothing less than fiscal federalism in which the states control the LGs under them.