By Muazu Elazeh

I recently listened to Governor Francis Ogbonna Erishi Nwifuru of Ebonyi State warning local government chairmen to ensure the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) wins their council areas in the 2027 elections by any means, or risk being sacked. Hearing this, I couldn’t help but believe that democracy in Nigeria is gradually being imperilled.

“As a local government chairman, if you like, go and sleep. So that another person will take over your house. You will not stop us from winning. We will win. You know we will win. But when we win, we will remove you. It is as simple as that.

“It is not hidden. Let the newspapers report it on the first page that we will remove any chairman who fails to win in the local government. It is not hidden. If you allow anybody to come to your local government and mess up, deal with that person mercilessly,” Nwifuru said.

Governor Nwifuru issued a reckless directive to local government chairmen, demonstrating a complete disregard for credible, free, and fair elections. At the swearing-in of the council chairmen, he brazenly threatened them, ignoring the principle that Nigeria operates a three-tier system of government with mutually independent tiers.

Just imagine a situation in which the President summons the governors to a meeting and, midway through his speech, tells them to ensure the APC wins in their respective states or face being sacked. That is exactly what Nwifuru, a former lawmaker, did to the local government chairmen.

Nwifuru’s statement shows how low governance in this country has fallen. When a governor openly asks local government chairmen to sabotage democracy by any means possible—and even asks the media to report it—you don’t need anyone to remind you of the danger he poses to democracy.

If anyone still doubts that some people are determined to have the 2027 election their way or the highway, Nwifuru’s threat, issued just days after similar controversial statements attributed to Francis Fadahunsi, Daniel Shekwolo, and Buba Saina, should provide a clear answer.

While Fadahunsi, Shekwolo, and Saina can be arrested and possibly prosecuted, Nwifuru cannot, as he enjoys constitutional immunity. Given the immense powers governors wield, such a directive could create chaos, foster voter apathy, and encourage anti-democratic activities in Ebonyi State.

It is not difficult to imagine what will follow. Threatened with removal, the chairmen will do whatever it takes to muzzle the opposition, disenfranchise those likely to vote for parties other than the APC, and ultimately manipulate the process—all in a bid to secure their council areas and retain their seats.

In a state like Ebonyi, with its long and chequered history of communal crises, Nwifuru’s directive is like lighting a fuse on a keg of gunpowder. It is recklessly dangerous and potentially disastrous.

Nwifuru is not asking council chairmen to campaign on substantive issues. He is demanding that they secure an APC victory by any means necessary, even if it means compromising democratic principles.

His remarks do more than raise concerns about the 2027 election; they expose fundamental systemic flaws and strike at the heart of local government autonomy. Imagine a president threatening to sack governors if the ruling party loses elections in their states. Such elections would be anything but free or fair.

Nwifuru spoke brazenly because he knows that, for most governors, removing a local government chairman is as effortless as drinking chilled water on a hot afternoon. Because he and perhaps some so-called stakeholders nominated and ultimately crowned these chairmen, he believes he alone has the power to strip them of their crowns. That is the core of the problem.

When governors control local government finances despite the Supreme Court’s verdict granting councils financial autonomy, and when local government elections are conducted by State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), whose officials are often members or sympathisers of the ruling parties and are appointed by the governors, you will always hear directives like those issued by Nwifuru. Local government chairmen will always obey. They have little choice.

Governor Nwifuru must be reminded that the beauty of democracy lies in the freedoms it guarantees—the freedom to choose, the freedom to disagree, and, most importantly, the freedom to vote without fear. Rather than threatening to sack, he should campaign to win voters’ support.

His directive to local government chairmen is nothing short of an invitation to rigging. When a governor issues such a directive openly, we should all be concerned. But Nwifuru must know this: Nigerians are watching.

But beyond Ebonyi State and the 2027 election, Nwifuru’s directive brings me back to the growing agitation for State Police. For me, this is yet another argument against the State Police. State Police is often presented as a solution to Nigeria’s security problems. However, directives such as Governor Nwifuru’s explain why many Nigerians remain deeply uncomfortable with the idea.

The police are statutorily responsible for maintaining law and order. But what happens when the governor, who wields enormous influence over those responsible for policing, becomes the very person whose directive threatens that order?

A governor brazen enough to tell local chairmen to “deal with anybody who comes to their local government” and mess can hardly be trusted with the machinery of a state police force. That is where the real danger lies. Fundamentally, Nwifuru’s directive lends credence to the widespread fear among many Nigerians that the State Police could eventually become another instrument in governors’ hands for political intimidation.

If a governor can threaten elected local government chairmen with removal for failing to deliver for his party, what guarantee do ordinary citizens have that the machinery of state, including the police, will not be turned against them for refusing to support the ruling party?

What worries me is not only what Governor Nwifuru said, but also the absence of the guardrails that should make such a threat impossible. The time is ripe to demand more from the courts, the legislature, civil society and the media. Above all, it is time for the nation to demand the effective implementation of local government autonomy and to ensure that elected chairmen are not treated as the governor’s personal appointees. We need institutional checks on executive overreach!

—Elazeh is the GMD of LEADERSHIP Newspaper and can be reached on: @babanyesme