FOSIECON REJECTS CALL TO SCRAP STATE ELECTORAL COMMISSIONS, WARNS AGAINST THREAT TO GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY
By: Safiya Abdulrahim Dabban
The Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria (FOSIECON) has dismissed the Inter-Party Advisory Council’s (IPAC) call to scrap State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), describing it as a threat to local democracy.
FOSIECON National Chairman, Mamman Nda Eri, said the proposal undermines the constitutional role of SIECs, which are established under Section 197 and the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution to conduct local government elections.
He stressed that removing SIECs would weaken Nigeria’s federal structure and silence citizens’ voices at the grassroots. According to him, the nation’s electoral framework relies on cooperation between INEC, which handles federal and state elections, and SIECs, which oversee local polls.
Eri urged stakeholders to strengthen SIECs through reforms that ensure financial and administrative independence, transparency, and staff capacity building rather than abolishing them.
He reaffirmed FOSIECON’s commitment to credible and inclusive elections, warning that scrapping SIECs would erode local governance and harm Nigeria’s democratic foundation.