THE BALLOT AT YOUR DOORSTEPS ALL EYES ON KOSIEC
By Abu Micheal
As October 17, 2026 draws closer, one question is on the lips of Kogites: Can KOSIEC deliver a credible council election? Yes, KOSIEC — the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission. The body responsible for choosing the 21 local government chairmen and 239 councillors who will manage our streets, markets, health centres and rural roads. Not Abuja. Not Lokoja Government House. Your council.
And that is why council elections matter so much. This is democracy at your doorstep. The chairmen and councillors you elect decide if that borehole in your community will work, if the potholes on your road will be fixed, if the primary health centre has drugs, if our young people get jobs as teachers and health workers. With elected councils, you can walk to the secretariat and ask questions. With caretakers, that door is usually closed. Elections also keep leaders accountable. If they don’t perform, you vote them out. Simple.
But elections don’t run themselves. The electoral body is the referee. Its job is to register voters, define wards and polling units, screen candidates, train officials, move ballot papers and BVAS machines to all 21 LGAs, count votes openly, and declare winners without fear or favour. The law says they must be independent. The people say they must be trusted.
That responsibility now rests on KOSIEC and its chairman, Honourable Mamman Nda Eri. Kogites remember his first tenure, which conducted the December 2020 council polls. His reappointment was seen by many as a vote of confidence, and today all eyes are on him again. Already, KOSIEC has released the election notice and timetable for October 17. Early notice gives parties and voters time to prepare. The commission has met stakeholders in Lokoja — political parties, traditional rulers, security agencies, civil society, the media — and presented the new KOSIEC Law 2025 and operational guidelines. Voter education is going on across Kogi East, West and Central, and even our royal fathers are being mobilized to preach peace.
Security talks are ongoing with police and other agencies. Campaigns for the election started May 20, 2026, and KOSIEC has been clear: no hate speech, no violence, no intimidation. Issue-based politics only. But expectations are high. Nigerians, and Kogites, are tired of flawed elections. People want transparency. They want to see BVAS work. They want results uploaded. They want a level playing field.
What makes an electoral chairman trusted? Integrity. Courage to say no to pressure. Knowledge of the Electoral Act and Constitution. Ability to manage the logistics of 239 wards. Tech skills for BVAS. Honest communication in Ebira, Igala, Okun and Nupe. Neutrality. Accountability. And love for democracy above all. Honourable Mamman Nda Eri now also leads the Forum of State Electoral Commissions nationwide, and that adds to the spotlight on Kogi.
So as the countdown begins, the test is simple: Will KOSIEC conduct polls that reflect the will of the people? Will parties and voters play by the rules? The KOSIEC Chairman has started well. He began the process soon as the laws were passed, he kept to the 360-day timeline, and he showed courage even when he insisted that aside from parties that met deadlines, the Commission will not open its process for parties that didn’t meet the timeline.
Without mincing words, he has in several instances shown courage and independence, an indication of a better start and what to expect.
Because where there’s no credible council election, government becomes distant. But with credible polls, democracy starts working — on your street, in your market, at your clinic. That’s the challenge before KOSIEC. That’s the hope of Kogites.
It is without mincing words to State that going by the KOSIEC Chairman’s trajectory. He has all it takes to deliver on his mandate even though he will not be working alone. He has both his Commissioners, Political Parties, other institutions tasked with the conduct of elections to work with. The citizens equally have roles to play in the delivery of credible polls, reason why with all eyes on the KOSIEC Chairman whose antecedents speaks volumes, there is no doubt that the process and conduct of 2026 Council election with the experience gathered will be better improved upon.
The Commentary “Democracy at Your Doorstep” is written by Abu Micheal, Journalist, Publisher, ANIPR, MNIM, Editorial Board Member, Guild of Interfaith Media Practitioners Nigeria, MCIA.
