DELTA STATE JANUARY 6TH LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTION; PREPARING FOR THE SHENANIGANS

-By Enemosa Nwachukwu S.

The history of local government elections all over Nigeria has been a record of de-facto influence showcasing the domineering power of the incumbent against rival parties. Nigerian politicians focus mostly on egocentric desires and show of influence rather than the service they promise electorates during the electioneering campaigns. They seems to lack basic understanding of the functions of governance.

Local government elections conducted recently in virtually all the Nigerian states revealed once again the shoddy show of shame and deliberate wastage of public fund. A huge appalling situation where the incumbent considered all electorates as gullible people who have no right to decide or choose their representatives as guaranteed in a true democratic practice.

This ugly political culture initiated by the People's Democratic Party, PDP since 1999 has obviously become an avenue for not just the unnecessary wastage of public fund but impudent on the sensibility of the electorates whose time, money and other resources were abandoned just to obey public laws only to be relegated and disappointed by a governor who has no respect for the election he conducted but rather choose to impose unpopular imposters against the people's vote. The consequences of this act of dastard imposition of unwanted candidates in local government elections usually led to breakdown of public order, nepotism, partiality and the enthronement of mediocre in sensitive administrative posts which resultant effects ruin the opportunity for transparency and good governance as well as the desired economic development and happiness at the grassroots.

The prevailing political orientation initiated in delta state by successive administrations of the PDP is an area prone to any thing electoral fraud, rigging and attack on prominent candidates of the opposition party who pose the possibility of defeating the incumbent. A Clear example was the incident witnessed recently in Ika North East Local Government Area, the home base of the incumbent governor where the popularity of the candidates of the major opposition party in the state; the All Progressives Congress APC seems to have dominated the area and ready to push the ruling party to an embarrassing defeat at the forth coming January 6th delta council elections. As a result of that,  the PDP instead of improving it's techniques ahead of the election resolved at posing for combative contest against the opposition parties as a way of scaring them ahead of the local government elections.

Phenomena around the state government preparation for the elections revealed indubitably the already planed antics of the ruling party to rig the election. The electoral umpire; DSIEC has been accused by some chieftains of the opposition parties in the state of being too promiscuous and aligning with the PDP to perpetuate their rigging antics as usual.

It is regrettably ridiculous that no Nigerian state governor has been able to prove his popularity and integrity by allowing a free, fair and transparent local government elections. The exercise is considered by the governors as a formality show of necessary political jay-walking.

It is time we begin to change our political orientation for good as that is the only way we can enhance the beauty of our democracy. We cannot continue to absorb the corrupt traditional way of doing things, else we will become victims of our own jiggery-pokery.