By Abiola Olawale
Senator Ede Dafinone, the Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District of Delta State in the Senate has condemned in strong terms the conduct of the just-concluded Local Government elections by the Delta State Independence Electoral Commission (DSIEC) in Delta State.
The Federal Lawmaker in a strongly worded statement described the elections that took place in Delta State on Saturday, July 13, 2024, as a complete shame and a mockery of democratic ideals and standards.
According to him, the DSIEC, through the election has shown that Delta State is not in tune with the plan of the Federal Government and the recent judgment by the Supreme Court that autonomy should be granted to local governments.
The Senator representing the good people of Delta Central at the Upper Legislative Chambers while reacting to the outcome of the council polls held in Delta state said that it’s very unfortunate that people at the grassroots level are prevented from participating in our democratic process by state governors to freely elect their councillors and council chairman.
He said: “As predicted by political watchers that the Delta State PDP-led government is incapable of conducting free, fair and credible elections, DISEC proved all of us right. Because there were reports across the state that electoral materials, particularly results sheets were not supplied to many polling units, and in some cases, wards that were considered as strongholds of the opposition, voting materials were not supplied at all.
“It’s disheartening that our governors who are products of free and fair elections can’t replicate the same in the local government areas of their state. If INEC were to conduct elections the way the governors purportedly teleguide SIEC to conduct local government polls, many of them would not be governors today.
“I think at this point in our national history and democratic journey, we have to put partisan politics aside and work collectively to amend the relevant sections of our constitution to rescue the local government system from the grips of our governors.
“I must commend the laudable effort of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for taking the lead in this respect by ensuring financial autonomy for the local governments across the country.
“We must do likewise to enthrone democratic principles at the local government level by ensuring that a credible agency, possibly INEC, is charged with the conduct of local government elections across the country to guarantee our people’s participation in democratic governance.”
