By joshua Kogi LG Polls: A Peaceful Watershed and Template For Sub-National Democracy
By Abu Micheal
October 27, 2026 will remain a watershed in the democratic history of Kogi State. It was an election that defied the usual apathy associated with local government polls in Nigeria. As early as 7:00 a.m., electorates trooped out in large numbers across the 21 local government areas to exercise their franchise.
The enthusiasm was not surprising. Local government is the closest government to the people. It is the tier that determines who manages community resources, who repairs the primary school roof in Okehi, who grades the rural road in Ibaji, who ensures potable water flows in Yagba and who collects and manages waste in Lokoja metropolis. Its functionality is directly linked to the development of the people and the stability of the State. If Kogi must grow, its local councils must work. That understanding is what drove the unprecedented turnout.
The superlative organization witnessed did not happen by accident. Credit must go to the leadership of the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission, KOSIEC, under Hon. Mamman NDA Eri. Experience, they say, is the best teacher. Eri, who has learned through the past, brought that experience to bear. Within the 360-day window from the release of the timetable on 22nd October, 2025, in compliance with Section 197(1)(b) and Paragraph 3 of Part II of the Third Schedule to the Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022, to the election on 17th October, 2026, the Commission ticked every constitutional box. There was early release of timetable and schedule of activities, sustained voters’ education in partnership with civil society, including CHRCR’s radio platform and The Perspective Magazine, transparent distribution of sensitive materials to all LGAs on 16th October, 2026, witnessed by observers, media and security agencies including the NPF, NSCDC and DSS, and accreditation of observers and deployment of election officers.
More importantly, Hon. Eri built confidence through deliberate town hall meetings across the three senatorial districts, engaging traditional rulers, youth groups, women cooperatives, political parties and Persons Living With Disabilities. It was that consultative approach that restored public trust that votes would count.
To be honest, no election anywhere in the world is perfect. The Kogi exercise had its own hiccups, and acknowledging them is the first step to improving. As noted in the report by the Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, CHRCR, led by Comrade Idris Miliki Abdul, which observed the poll, there were cases of late arrival of materials, even in Lokoja, the state capital. In some polling units, there was no display of voters’ register. Voters’ turnout was low in some areas due to inadequate confidence and information, and presence of party agents was not as expected. The place of sensitisation still remains a challenge, particularly because the voting arrangement differed from what was obtained in previous federal elections.
The election also proved that proper funding and logistics remain critical. As CHRCR observed, the Commission, faced with funding constraints and the sheer geographical spread of polling units as scattered as they are, had to collapse some units together for administrative convenience. This was not out of mischief but out of logistical reality. It is for this reason that some analysts have renewed the call for INEC to conduct local government elections. While that debate continues, what was obtained in Kogi was not out of place in Nigeria’s current subnational electoral structure. What matters is that the process was transparently managed within available resources.
The most profound achievement of the October 17 election is what did not happen. Before, during and after the election, there was peace. No bullet was shot. There was no ballot snuffing and snatching as used to be witnessed in times past. Security personnel were present early enough in many polling units, a fact commended by observers.
The non-restriction of movement of citizens on election day, as observed by CHRCR, helped reduce tension and should be sustained. Kogi people across the state must be commended for their resilience, peaceful and orderly conduct and overflowing participation.
A State Resident Electoral Commissioner from another state who joined in monitoring the exercise was quoted as saying what Kogi has done is serving as a template for how SIECs should conduct local government elections despite challenges. Another observer in Lokoja noted that they witnessed distribution of materials with security agencies and that despite one or two hiccups, the process was peaceful. Results were declared around 1:00 a.m. on 18th October, 2026, by the SIEC Chairman at the Commission’s headquarters, in confirmation of reports from Local Government Returning Officers, witnessed by observers, security personnel and the media.
To make future local government elections more credible, the observations and recommendations by Comr. Miliki and other verified stakeholders must be taken seriously. CHRCR recommended that SIEC should urgently organize a one-day debriefing with stakeholders, security agencies, observers, political parties, election officers and media, to assess what worked, what did not and areas for improvement. Other crucial recommendations include adequate mobilization and civic education, particularly by political parties who are the primary beneficiaries but were largely absent in voter education, publishing of full results on SIEC’s newly acquired website and deepening digitalization, provision of a permanent site and modern building for SIEC by the State Government and building permanent offices in all LGAs like INEC, professionalization of SIEC staff rather than random secondment from ministries, direct funding to SIEC as provided by the 2025 Local Government Law as amended, and active support of international donors and agencies for subnational elections, as elections at subnational level are as important as national elections. As CHRCR rightly stated, citizens must continue to participate in the electoral process to sustain democracy at subnational level and must also stop carrying out fake news and misinformation before, during and after elections as it undermines the electoral process.
To the winners, this is a call to be magnanimous in victory. The people have entrusted you with the closest tier of power and you must deliver basic services with transparency. To those who lost, there is always another time to fight. In a democratic process, the judiciary remains another platform to ventilate disagreement. It is hoped that soon the Election Petition Tribunal will come on board for aggrieved candidates to seek redress without resorting to self-help.
Now that the new Council Chairmen have emerged, the real work begins. In fact, it calls for more work, both for those returning and for the new ones elected. The stakes are higher now than ever before. This is particularly so because the administration of Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo is striving to ensure full autonomy of local government administration in Kogi State, in line with the spirit and letter of the Supreme Court judgment and the yearnings of the people. Full autonomy means full responsibility. It means direct access to resources, but also direct accountability to the people. There will be no hiding place, no excuse of joint accounts or state interference. The people will now look directly to their Chairmen for roads, primary healthcare, basic education, sanitation and rural development. For the returning Chairmen, it is time to consolidate and correct past mistakes. For the newly elected, it is time to learn fast and deliver quickly. The same charge goes to the new Councillors. You are the lawmakers at the grassroots, the closest representatives of the people. You must brave up in your new role, understand your legislative and oversight functions, and justify the mandate and confidence reposed in you by your wards.
The era of absentee councillorship and rubber-stamp legislative councils must end. Kogi people, who defied all odds to troop out as early as 7 a.m. on October 17 to vote, expect a new deal, a local government system that works for them. If the peaceful and template-setting election of October 17 must have meaning, it must translate into performance at the grassroots.