Why we extended tenure of LG Councils – Assembly

The Deputy Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, has reacted to the criticism trailing the resolution of the House to extend the duration of the Management Committees of the 17 Local Government Councils in the state by six months.
The lawmaker said the tenure extension is for the institutions of the Local Government Councils and not for the persons occupying the offices.
Gagdi said: “As such, the governor can, on his own discretion, replace all or any of the members or chairmen within the extended period through the approval of the House, if in his own opinion the member or chairman is not performing to expectations.
“This, the House believes, is one of the surest way of instilling accountability and probity in the councils, while ensuring no scapegoats or sacred cows are recorded in such oversight function.
“The tenure extension is premised on multiple reasons that left the House in a precarious situation between the devil and the deep blue sea, where it had no better option than to okay the tenure extension in the prevailing circumstances.
“To start with, Plateau State has two Local Government Laws, with contradicting provisions inherited by the Lalong administration. That had given the previous administration the leeway to exercise excessive powers and exert their whims and caprice on the administration of the Councils. It was the lacuna created by this dual laws that gave Lalong the impetus to dissolve the last elected councils in the state; though I still maintain that such action was not right in the eyes of the law, because two wrongs can never make a right.
“It is a known fact that the dissolved councils are challenging their dissolution in a competent court of Law, but that was after the House had already approved for the governor to constitute management committees to man the councils pending when council elections are conducted. With the pendency of the matter in court, it would be prejudicial for the house to alter the status quo; especially that the tenure of the dissolved councils, by virtue of one of the Local Government Laws, is supposed to expire in March, 2017.
“This presupposes that no elected councils can assume office before the purported tenure of the dissolved councils elapses.
“The other issue is that, a Bill is being presented to the House to harmonise the two existing Local Government Laws, which would define the tenure, structure and composition of Local Government Councils in Plateau state, in line with the provisions of Section 7 of the 1999 CFRN. This law would end the lacuna in the existing local government councils in Plateau state, which were occasioned by the erstwhile dual laws, created by the immediate past administration for the purpose of servicing some sentiments, and dealing with some perceived disloyal elected local government chairmen.
“But laws are laws, they are not made for convenient purpose….
“Further more, a different Bill is being considered by the House with respect to the State Independent Electoral Commission, which is the body empowered by law to conduct elections into the LGCs. This Bill seeks to fine tune the operational capacities of the electoral body to conduct conducive elections that will be free and fair for the state.
“With this bills yet to be passed into law, it is very unlikely that local government polls can be conducted in the state in the next three months, given the provision in the existing PLASIEC Law that requires three months notice of election mandating PLASIEC to issue to political parties and other stakeholders in the electoral process.
“With that notice not yet given by PLASIEC, coupled with the two Bills before the House, it is practically impossible to have elected councils in the state earlier than April 2017. The fact that nature abhors vacuum, the various councils must have to be manned by individuals under whatever name.
“Aside the discretion of the governor to fire any erring councils that have not lived up to expectations, the house can also pass a vote of no confidence on any council that performs below expectations, vis-à-vis the revenue that accrued to it since they came on boat.
“It is on this premise that the house yesterday rejected the report of the adhoc committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs on the state of affairs in the councils under the current management committees for failure to attach details of finances collected by the various councils from the federation account and the projects executed to justify such collections. This is also to ensure the complaints of nonperformance against most of the chairmen is looked into from a neutral perspective, because some of those complaining are actually doing so out of selfish intents.
“This is basically why the house approved the 6 months extension in order for the house and the state to be able to put their acts together.”