The Nigerian Senate have accused state governments of rendering Local Government Councils across the country useless through actions which are aimed at misappropriating funds meant to empower the councils to perform their duties to residents who are supposed to be enjoying dividends of democracy at that level.
They made this known on Wednesday while discussing on a motion sponsored by Senator Suleiman Kawu from Kano South.
Presenting the motion, Senator Kawu said “The Senate notes that in the tapestry of Nigeria’s governance system, local governments are meant to be threads weaving development close to the ground.
He said “Envisioned as the closest tier of administration to the people, they hold the potential to address local needs directly and shape communities from inside out. But the story of Nigeria’s local government system is one of promise and paradox, woven with threads of hope and frustration;
“Also notes that the journey began in 1976 with local government reform, aiming to decentralize power and empower communities.
“Envisioned as self-governing entities with elected officials, local governments handled critical aspects of community life – primary education, healthcare, sanitation, local infrastructure and community security. It was a dream of grassroots democracy, where decisions were made closer to the people they impacted.
‘’Aware that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, when he served as governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, demonstrated sincere passion for the autonomy of the local governments in Lagos State. This can be grasped when he purportedly established 37 LCDAs within LGAs in Lagos State and introduced reforms to strengthen them.
“Also aware that the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, when he served as the governor of Akwa-Ibom Stated from 2007 to 2015, implemented various initiatives to improve service delivery at the local level, such as rehabilitating infrastructure, investing in healthcare and education, and launching poverty alleviation programmes, as well as deducting 10% of the IGR to LGAs which informed ground breaking achievements by LGA in Akwa-Ibom State local government administration.
“Also worried that some governors play a crucial role in frustrating local government autonomy in Nigeria via constitutional alteration processes.’’
Senators like Orji Uzor Kalu, Ahmed Lawan, Ifeanyi Ubah and Jibrin Barau bemoaned how local governments councils have been killed in the country by state governments who make sure that democratically elected leaders are not installed at that level of government.
Senator Ifeanyi Ubah said “we must look at Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution.
‘’We need to amend it, so we can start having values for democracy in our states. A state like Anambra has not conducted local government election in the last 18 years.”
Senator Jibrin Barau said “Local governments are dead in Nigeria. Governors misappropriate local government funds.
‘’They force local government chairmen to sign off cheques and give them meagre amounts as running costs. Some governors are different and we thank them for doing the right thing.’’
Senator Ahmad Lawan said “ I urge that we find a way of improving the capacity of those who run the local government system, because I believe this requires devolution of powers.”
The Red Chamber emphasized that the dream of achieving the objectives of the local government system has faced harsh oppositions as successive state governments have often eroded local government councils’ autonomy and limiting their financial resources and control over decision-making.
They urged the federal government under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to stop further allocation of funds to caretaker committee-led local government areas, LGAs, and advised him to, as a matter of urgency, champion the cause of full autonomy for local governments in the country.
VANGUARD
