Former Ogun State Governor, Chief Segun Osoba, has criticized governors for using their political influence to install their party members as chairmen of local governments, calling it undemocratic.
In an interview on Channels Television on Friday, Osoba emphasized the need for a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s political dynamics to achieve effective federalism.
“If you look at how we conduct our local government elections, I am very unhappy. Virtually, any government in power will claim 100% success in our local government elections. It is painful that when local government elections are conducted at the state level, each state will be scoring 100%, and when it comes to general elections, those who are scoring 100% in their states either lose the general elections or struggle to survive; it doesn’t speak well of the current democratic system,” Osoba said.
His comments follow a Supreme Court decision granting financial autonomy to the third tier of government, instructing the Federal Government to pay the 20.60% monthly allocation directly to the local governments’ exclusive accounts, bypassing state governors. The court also prohibited governors from dissolving democratically elected local government councils.
Many Nigerians believe that true local government autonomy requires free and fair elections, free from state interference, where state-controlled electoral bodies often declare the governors’ loyalists as winners.
Osoba, who served as Ogun State governor from January 1992 to November 1993 and from May 1999 to May 2003, stressed the need for restoring party discipline. He advocated for free and fair elections at all levels and called for an end to “highest-bidder” politics, urging that citizens be allowed to choose their representatives.
“The party discipline is not as strong as it should be. I have been preaching direct primaries all my life, not delegates, because in the case of delegates, it is the highest bidder. We all know this… but with direct primaries with registered (party) members, there will be less corruption,” he said.
He urged the APC to improve its internal discipline and structure, reminiscent of the days of Pa Obafemi Awolowo, who encouraged open discussions among party members.
While acknowledging that Nigerians’ expectations have not been fully met since 1999, Osoba highlighted the stability of the democratic system in the Fourth Republic as a significant achievement. He also called for restructuring in a “consensus manner,” emphasizing that the National Assembly cannot be bypassed in this process.
