On Tuesday, Anambra Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo swore in the chairman and members of the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC).
This is contained in a statement issued by Paul Nwosu, Commissioner for Information in Anambra State, obtained by News About Nigeria.
The chairman of the Commission is Magistrate Chinelo Genevieve Osakwe while the members are as follows: Mrs. Bernadine Obande (FCA), Barrister Osita Cyril Igbokwe, Sir Chinedu Anthony Nnalue, Mrs. Helen Ifeyinwa Umeh, and Mr. John Emeka Okeke.
The Commission is tasked with setting the date for local government elections and overseeing the organisation and conduct of peaceful and transparent local government polls in Anambra State.
While inaugurating the Commission, Governor Soludo stated that the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as well as the Anambra State Electoral Law, have explicitly mandated ANSIEC to conduct the local government elections transparently and independently.
Governor Soludo charged the members of ANSIEC to serve with honour and integrity in an exemplary way that will highlight the Anambra ethos as “The Light of the Nation”.
The chairman of ANSIEC, Magistrate Chinelo Genevieve Osakwe assured Governor Soludo that her team is a formidable team that will wade through the storm and offer the enlightened people of Anambra State diligent and transparent service based on their antecedents.
On July 11, the Supreme Court declared that it is unconstitutional for state governors to hold funds allocated for local government administrations.
The seven-man panel, in the judgement delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, declared that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves.
The apex court held that the power of the government is portioned into three arms of government: the federal, the state, and the local government.
The court further declared that a state government has no power to appoint a caretaker committee and a local government council is only recognisable with a democratically elected government.
