21states run 477 LGAs with transition committees
By Clifford Ndujihe
DESPITE having democratic rule for 25 unbroken years, democracy is far from sight in over 60 per cent of local government areas, LGAs, in Nigeria.
Local councils are the third-tier of government after the states and federal governments in Africa’s most populous nation.
Currently, the number of LGAs without democracy in the country is 477, which is 61.63 per cent of the 774 local councils. The anomaly is against the provisions of Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which guarantees the system of local government by democratically elected officials.
Only 297 LGAs (38.31 per cent) across 15 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, have elected officers.
Reasons cited for the inability of many states to conduct council polls include insecurity, paucity of funds, political an
