Governor Bassey Otu has granted assent to the amended Cross River Electoral Law passed by the State House of Assembly which stipulated a four-year tenure for elected Local Government officials.
Signing the amended Law on Thursday in Calabar, the state Capital, Otu stated, “Let me thank Mr Speaker and members of the House of Assembly, and of course, our own Electoral Commission for making sure that we have an up-to-date act that is ready to put the third tier of government into office.”
The amendment by the House of Assembly was necessitated by the Supreme Court’s verdict granting autonomy to the local government as well as ensuring that states of the federation ensure local administrations are headed by elected officials in accordance with the constitution.
“Local government is very important. That is the government that is closer to the people than any other government that we have in the Federation.
“I want to appreciate the fact that you have done a good job and I know that Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC), as they are going, they are going to announce the date for the election and people will be ready; so that we will follow the rules of the game,” adding that, “We want this particular segment of our government to be active so that the dividends of democracy will trickle right down to the downtrodden and the people who need it most,” he added.
The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Elvert Ayambem told newsmen that “what we have done today is in line with the Supreme Court judgment that was passed ab initio, and the Otu-led government being a proactive one, decided that the third tier government must come up almost immediately.”
“For some time, we have not had the opportunity of having substantive chairmen in their right places of authority. And the governor thought it wise that we need to come up with the conduct of local government elections.
“And the House of Assembly, in her wisdom, looked at the CROSIEC laws and realized that there were some grey areas that needed urgent attention. And those grey areas are the areas that have been largely attended to.”
Ayambem said one of the most cardinal points tackled in the amended Law was the review of the tenure of the office of chairmen and councillors from three to four years on par with their elected officials at the state and federal levels.
“As the Supreme Court judgment rightly had outlined the third tier government should enjoy the same status as that of the executive, the status of a governor and the status of a president where they have a tenure of four years in office and not three years at it were. So we looked at it in consonance with the Supreme Court judgment.
“All that we have done is align strictly with what the Supreme Court has outlined. So we looked at it in consonance with the Supreme Court judgment all that we have done is align strictly with what the Supreme Court has outlined,” the Speaker added.
Ayambem reiterated the state government’s stance on holding local government elections before the end of the year 2024.
