A serious legal case that’ll change the landscape of the Nigerian polity as we currently know it, is presently brewing, all thanks to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu state. In the party’s bid to seek justice for its members and candidates that were poised to participate in a botched 2015 local government elections to be conducted by the Enugu state independent election commission (ENSIEC), a court case has been on since 2015 in the Coal city sate.
Relying on a petition against the PDP and Enugu state government in the continued manipulation of the Enugu state LGA elections during the pendency of Appeal no. SC 891/2017, the stage is set in the Supreme court of Nigeria, to determine if: the State government of Enugu state did not contravene the Local government Law No. 5 of 1999 that oversees the Conduct of local government council elections that was supposed to be held 90 days or 60 days to the expiration of the tenure of the elected chairmen and councilors on 4th of January 2016. The suit also states that, inspite of the pendency of the suit No: E/362/2015 and the Motion on Notice for Interlocutory Injunction, the Enugu state PDP led government appointed Caretaker Committee Chairmen for the 17 LGAs in Enugu state on 6/1/2016.
In other words, the state government went contrary to the law of the land as enshrined in the 1999 constitution as amended, to appoint an illegal caretaker committee thereby disenfranchising the APC from seeking political office at the local government level. This inadvertently means that the PDP led government used the power of incumbency to whittle down the effect of the opposition among the electorate.
From 2016 when the matter was first heard at the federal high court Enugu, under the jurisdiction of the honorable justice Odugu, till the current Supreme court hearing billed for Wednesday the 10th of February 2021, the APC has insisted that the decision of the PDP-led government to disregard the interlocutory injunction of the honourable court, amounted to gross abuse of judicial process. Therefore the APC is of the view that the party should be awarded the leadership of all the local governments of the state in compensation of the disruption of the electoral process in the state.
But aside the electoral implications of the supreme court process, the political impact in the state in particular and the nation in general that depends on the outcome of this case, is best imagined.
The grassroots elements in a democratic process inadvertently determines where the direction the state and federal electoral process will swing. In other words, should APC Enugu state convince the supreme court that the said constitutional process was rigged in favour of the PDP, there is every indication that the prayer of the APC to get its candidates sworn in at every local government council in Enugu state, will usher in an unprecedented dimension in the body polity in Nigeria.
But the issues around the electoral process in Nigeria is as complicated as every maze. From compromised judicial system to desperate politicians, political judgments in Nigeria has been considered as very unreliable in the recent past. However, the body language of the current Attorney General of the federation, Abubakara Malami SAN, in the area of local government autonomy, and by extension to that of the President, Muhammadu Buhari, means that everything that will aid the political and financial autonomy of the 3rd level of government, will be pursued to its logical conclusion by the federal government.
For Enugu state, a landmark judgement as expected by the APC, will create a veritable grassroots leverage for the party going into the 2023 general elections. This is based on the fact that in the south east, the PDP considers Enugu State as a safe haven, therefore will be whittled down should the local government structure be taken away from them. With such situation at both ends, the hearing at the supreme court on the 10th of February and subsequent judgement will redefine the constitutional position of local governments in Nigeria.
The Author – Ejiofor Agada is a public affairs analyst from Enugu State
If Supreme Court should Honour such prayer, there is tendency that Enugu State politics will be overturned overnight. Enugu has come to pose as one party system and systematically deprived other party faithfuls a level playing ground in the state.
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