Kwara and Anambra states will hold local government elections on September 21 and 28, respectively.
The Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission announced it is preparing for the local government election next month. This will elect chairpersons for the 16 local councils in the state.
“The Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission is ready to conduct the local government elections to bring in democratically elected chairmen for all 16 councils,” said a spokesperson from the commission.
The ruling All Progressives Congress has expressed readiness for the elections, while the opposition Peoples Democratic Party has raised concerns about the process.
For nearly five years, Kwara State has been managed by sole administrators. The newly inaugurated electoral commission members have pledged to hold the elections as planned.
In Anambra State, the Independent Electoral Commission has announced that local government elections will take place on September 28 across all 21 councils.
The commission stated, “All registered political parties and the general public are informed that the local government elections in Anambra State will be held on Saturday, September 28, 2024.” They added, “Election timetable, schedule of activities, and other details can be collected from the headquarters of the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission in Awka starting Wednesday, August 14, 2024.”
This comes as about 15 states have either announced or held local government elections since the Supreme Court granted financial autonomy to local governments in July. The court ordered that the Federal Government must pay the monthly allocation of the 774 LGs directly to their accounts, not to those controlled by governors. The court also prohibited governors from dissolving democratically elected local councils.
