Where Katsina State’s Local Government Election Lies? -By Umar Babangida

The ascendency to the position of Katsina state government by Aminu Bello Masari is today a five-years-journey or thereabouts, if we could hark back to the inauguration of Aminu Bello Masari, governor of Katsina state was sworn in on May 30,2015. He, then won for second terms in 2019 election. Since the governor come on board, to helm of the affairs of the state, there had no brain for the conduction of local government election in the state. One would begrudgingly say that for all over the long period of this five years of this government in office but there had no any attempt to set off the local government election in the state.

The idea to write this piece, sprang from both the local government election conducted few weeks ago in Bauch state and Kano state which scheduled to hold election of Kano state local government in the next few months to come. Hence, what comes to one mind is that, how a state like Bauchi which her governor Bala Muhammad just sworn into the office as recently as last year or thereabouts. But has conducted local government election while those who have been in office for about five years today have not even ready to do as he does. What happens to our governors?.

Recall that, Katsina state government since then, had only caretaker chairmen which had been dissolved, the Katsina state government on March 27, 2020 had sworn in caretakers chairmen for 34 local government of the state.

We, knowing all indisputably how all or most of the governors, are at war which the endeavors to make local government becomes autonomous by the federal government. Whichsoever this autonomy will give them a latitudes to receive squarely their shares of funds from the federal government. After the proposed of this motion which rejected blithely by the governors. I therefore, came to ask why our governors are at displeased with the local government autonomy? Does that why they are delayed to hold local government election?

Notwithstanding, Katsina state has destined to the activities of morons armed-bandits attackers in the state for over years now. However, at this time of wax and wane of price inflation, economic hardships and difficulties here and there, holding local government election in the state would may provide commoners, workers, and contractors and people at grassroots level a means and stimulus for earnings from their local governments and may ease the suffering at the local government level.

Despite the all litany of complaint and call on the governor to hold election in the state but he turns his nose up at the local government election. Why one may not think and ask that the governor benefit from the share of local government. If not that, where is all the fund received incessantly by the governor as local government shares from the federal government? Where all the monies these for all over this years spends on?

The answers to the aforementioned questions may definitely be out of these, is either the monies were squirrel away or siphoned by the few privileged to the state associates. In a meantime, how Bauchi state held her election is indeed a commendable worthy of emulation, though many criticize the election as “selection not election”. But it would be with it than without it, and how Kano state government scheduled to conduct the local government election on January 16, 2020 should be fillips to our Katsina state government to materialize to the local government election in the state.

Once and again, conducting a local government election in the state would indeed reduce the economics hardships and restiveness that people are coping with in the state, and we knew that His Excellency, governor Aminu Bello Masari, is wunderkind,emphatic and man with ear-listening to the indigenous people of Katsina state and electorates. Constitutionally, It’s a bounden duty of every governor to conduct the election in every state. And this election would serve as a swan songs, legacies as you are moving within an ace of the end of your tenure.

Umar Babangida writes from faculty of communication, Bayero University,Kano.
omarbangees@gmail.com.