Dear Sir,Re: Postpone Anambra Local Council Election
I would like to appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan, The Independent Electoral Commission ( INEC), interested parties and all well meaning Nigerians to call the Governor of Anambra State to order over his attempt to conduct the local council election in an ill-timed electoral time line and thereby prompting distractions and heating up the polity unnecessarily.
Elections in a proper democratic terms refers to giving equal opportunity, awareness, incentives and fair share of time for preparation.
It beclouds all norms of intelligence for a democratically elected State Governor to wait almost eight years, a few days to the end of Governor Obi’s tenure in office, before realising that the third tier of government deserves democracy.
From the electorate point of view, It is a standing knowledge that gubernatorial election holds every four years, while local council election holds every three years, then why should a Governor give a few days notice to a local council election and to make the matter worse, schedule the council election within the same period of a Governorship election that interested parties have been preparing since four years ago.
As a former political party chairman, no party can come up with credible candidates, both Chairmen and Vice Chairmen with their councilors, running into hundreds, to represent them in Local council election, given the time frame allotted by Governor Obi to the election.
As one who grew from political foot soldiering under Zik’s NPP party and a believer in grassroots politics, I cannot in anyway be against conduct of election at the local council level or deepening democracy at the grassroots level.
Governor Peter Obi have done well in some areas of governance, but on the local council election, I believe he was ill-adviced. Therefore the election must be postponed and be conducted by the incoming administration, if the election must achieve some level of credibility.
Sincerely yours,
Chief Udo Udeogaranya
Anambra State 2013/2014 Guber Aspirant.
