The Kogi state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, on Tuesday said his administration was not ready to conduct local government election in the state.
He, therefore, sought another six months extension for the current administrators of the 21 local government areas of the state from the state house of assembly.
The governor in a letter dated March 28, 2018, and addressed to the speaker, Kogi state house of assembly, Matthew Kolawole, said paucity of the fund was the major reason he could not conduct the much-awaited election.
According to the letter read on the floor of the house by the speaker, Bello said although the preferred option to fill the positions at the local government level was an election, he was constrained by the paucity of fund.
The new extension was the third time the governor would grant the local government administrators since they were appointed after the expiration of the democratically elected chairmen in May 2016.
The letter read in part, “The Kogi state government considers elections the preferred option to fill these positions but the stark reality is that the administration remains constrained by the paucity of funds and ancillary challenges from holding local government elections at this time.
“It is therefore incumbent on the Kogi State House of Assembly to keep our local government administration within the purview of the law by formally extending the tenure of the 21 Local Government Transition Committees in Kogi State.
“Accordingly, and in line with Part VIII, Section 56(3) of the Kogi StateLocal Government (Amendment) Law, 2008, I hereby request the Kogi tenure of the present 21 Local Government Transition Committees in Kogi State from the last day of April 2018 to the 30th day of September 2018”.
