Some political parties and Senior Advocates of Nigeria have asked governors, who have refused to conduct local government elections in their states, to do so immediately.
The parties, Action Congress of Nigeria and the Congress for Progressive Change, said there must be democracy in all the local governments in the country.
But the two parties disagreed with calls on the National Assembly by the Cross River State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Mike Igini, to stop allocations to the 511 local governments that were yet to conduct elections in the country.
Igini had told SUNDAY PUNCH last week that the action of the governors was in breach ofthe Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also said his party frowned upon running councils with caretaker committees.
"Democracy is about elections; yes we agree that there must be democracy at the local government levels. We are not advocates of caretaker committees or sole administrators," he said.
Also speaking on the issue, the National Publicity Secretary of the CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said his party would not advocate stoppage of the allocations, saying it would be wrong to use illegality to stop another form of illegality.
However, the Peoples Democratic Party was mum on the issue, while the All Nigeria Peoples Party did not respond to SUNDAY PUNCH's enquiry.
In the same vein, two senior lawyers, who spoke to one of our correspondents, condemned the aberration.
The lawyers, Mr. Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, and Mr. Alex Izinyon, SAN, said it was unconstitutional to have unelected administrations at the third tier of government.
Awomolo said, "The Constitution expects a democratically elected government at the third tier of government. Any other arrangement apart from that is unconstitutional and illegal."
On his part, Izinyon, maintained that, "There must be a local government election to put in place a new local government executive council but what you see is the governors will go and put in caretaker chairmen, whichis wrong."
A state such as Anambra has not had elected officials at council levels since 1999.
A political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, said there was the need to make local councils independent or scrap them.
Utomi said, "The administration of local governments has been disappointing largely because it became a playing ground for the governors. Even if elections are conducted the governors still find a way of fixing their boys."
With the clamour for local governments autonomy is expected to climax when the debate starts at the National Assembly for the review of the constitution.
In Ekiti State, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Funminiyi Afuye, said local governments should still be under the state government because granting autonomy to councils would be a violation of the principle of federalism.
His Oyo State counterpart, Mr. Bosun Oladele, said rather than yearn for autonomy of councils, Nigerians should seek good governance.
Promise and Fufil this time around that .
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They have to do it immediately o.It is highly necessary for it to be done...