In March 2022, the bill to grant full financial and administrative autonomy to local government areas was passed by the upper Chamber of the National Assembly.
The bill sought to amend the constitution to repeal the state joint local government account and provide for a special account where all allocations due to the local government councils, from the federation account, shall be paid.
In the bill, each local government council is to create and maintain its own special account to be called Local Government Allocation Account into which all the allocations will be paid.
This was done by the Senate to curb the shenanigans of some governors who have for selfish interests crippled the activities of the closest government to the people.
Section 162 of the 1999 constitution clearly stipulated that funds that accrue to the government of the federation shall be allocated in a defined formula among the three tiers of government to wit: Federal, State and Local Governments. Even though it also provides that monies due to the LGs shall be paid through the State, the state is a mere passage through which the money goes to the LGs.
In 2019, the federal government through the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, set a deadline for the take-off date for the directive that will ensure that local government allocations are paid to their respective bank accounts directly, a move the state governors frantically moved against.
On 1st December, 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari, angrily tongue-lashed state governors, accusing them of fraudulently mismanaging local government allocations.
Speaking on the situation, former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, who was vice president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, narrated how governors used constitutional loopholes to stop the direct allocation of funds to local governments.
He added that Nigeria has a “fundamental flaw in our legislation” as far as local government funding is concerned and it must be fixed.
Newspot reports that governors in different states have continually usurped the power of local government areas in Nigeria.
To make matters worse, some governors suspend local government executives not minding that the officials were elected by the people.
Findings by Newspot showed most of the state governments basically run the local government administration, thereby rendering the council officials ineffective.
Senate to stop governors’ impunity
Meanwhile, the current 10th Senate under the Speaker of the red chamber, Godswill Akpabio, is already making moves to stop the impunity of state governors in meddling into local government affairs.
Firstly, the senate is asking the federal government to stop the statutory allocation to local government councils whose chairpersons were not democratically elected.
Adams Oshiomhole, APC, Edo North, while expressing anger, noted that about 16 state governors were currently running their LGAs with caretaker committees.
The latest move by the senate was upon a motion moved by the senator representing Benue South under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Abba Moro, who is of the opinion that LG allocations to states without elected local government officials should be blocked.
Moro specifically identified Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, as one of the governors running the affairs of local government areas with caretaker committees.
The Senate passing the motion as moved, declared that the development was against constitutional provision.
NULGE speaks
Contacted for comment, the National President of the National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE Comrade Akeem Ambali, described the current situation of the closest government to the people as pathetic.
Mr Ambali said the solution was local government autonomy, but emphasised that some state governors led by the former Governor of Ekiti state, Kayode Fayemi, have been frustrating the actualisation of the autonomy.
He told Newspot, “The 9th National Assembly approved the local government autonomy but we ran into a mucky water because the forum of governors constituted a hindrance in achieving this.
“While states like Ogun, Delta, Edo, Kogi, Anambra and some others passed the local government autonomy bill, there appeared to be a conspiracy led by the then governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, who openly canvassed against the local government autonomy.
“And we all know that without having a functional local government, there is no way we can achieve meaningful and desired development in Nigeria.
“This is why Nigeria appears to be drifting on the verge of collapse because the poorest of the poor resides in the local government, where there are no motorable roads, where banditry reigns supreme, coupled with the absence of a viable local government administration.”
When asked what could be don to salvage the situation, the NULGE boss stressed that, “The root-cause of all these must be tackled from the conduct of local government elections and that is why we salute the courage of the National Assembly which is now looking at how to amend the regulation to ensure that local government elections are conducted by INEC.
“What we are experiencing at the local government currently is the coronation and appointment of political jobbers who are cronies of the state’s governors.
“So we must ensure that elections into LG offices are conducted by INEC.
“Again, we must ensure that there is direct funding of local government across the country. The funds must go directly from the federal government to the local governments account and not through the state governments anymore.”
Ambali also called on President Bola Tinubu to pay attention to the development of local government by providing some support.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must also look at critical sections in the local government such as infrastructure and provide support, by giving them equipment such as graders, tractors among other machines.”
The NULGE President also asked for an immediate enforcement of Senator Moro’s motion, which stops allocation to states without elected officers at the local government.
“This undemocratic move by the state governors to continually cripple the local government must stop.
“And that is why we are in support of the pronouncement by the National Assembly, that any state that fails to democratise properly by conducting local government elections should not be funded.
“The allocation meant for the local governments in that state should be seized by the federal government.
“Over 50 percent of the local governments in Nigeria are headed by jobbers, named caretaker committees, transition committees, among others, which is against the Supreme Court judgement.
“Aside from two states in the country, Rivers State (under governor Wike) and Jigawa state (under governor Badaru), most states are involved in taking local government funds.
“The approach differs. Some give up to 20 or 30 percent of the allocation to LGs, grabbing the rest 70 percent and that has continued up till now.
“The governors even attempt to use executive order 10. That is why we believe that constitution alteration is the way to go for now, to ensure money goes directly to local government and any state that refused to fully democratise should not be funded.”
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