Civil society group urges Bayelsa govt to conduct LG polls

A civil society group, the Save Our Unity and Nascent Democracy (SOUND), on Tuesday urged Bayelsa government to conduct local government election.

SOUND, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Prince Amiekumor Junior, flayed the continued existence of the local government caretaker committees appointed by the governor.

Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa inaugurated the current caretaker committees for the eight local government councils on April 8, 2016.

The civil society group said keeping the caretaker committees in office a year after their inauguration was illegal, undemocratic and unacceptable.

The group said it was regrettable that while other states are striving to organise council polls, the state continued to have a caretaker committee structure that is unknown to the constitution.

It stated that Dickson as a lawyer should know better, urging him to avoid playing politics with the development of the state.

The group called for the dissolution of the caretaker committees without delay, to pave way for democratically elected chairmen.
SOUND also urged the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to do more to keep the Peoples Democratic Party-controlled government on its toes.