The Senate has been urged to convene a national dialogue involving governors, state legislators, local government officials, civil society organizations, and community leaders to discuss the roadmap for achieving full autonomy for local governments.
This is one of the prayers in a motion sponsored by Senator Abdulrahman Kawu Suleiman representing Kano South.
Presenting the motion before the Senate plenary on Wednesday, Senator Kawu Sumaila notes that in the history of Nigeria’s governance system, local governments are meant to be threads weaving development closer to the people at the grassroots level.
He argued that local government levels are the closest tier of administration to the people, holding the potential to address local needs directly and shape communities from the inside out. However, the story of Nigeria’s local government system is full of false promises and frustration.
“Also notes that the journey began in 1976 with a 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 such as 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, during his tenure as Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, demonstrated a sincere passion for the autonomy of local governments in Lagos State.
This can be observed in his establishment of 37 LCDAs within LGAs in Lagos State and the introduction of reforms to strengthen them.
“Also aware that Senator Godswill Akpabio, while serving as the Governor of Akwa-Ibom State from 2007 to 2015, implemented various initiatives to improve service delivery at the local level. These initiatives included rehabilitating infrastructure, investing in healthcare and education, launching poverty alleviation programs, and allocating 10% of the IGR to LGAs. These efforts led to groundbreaking achievements in local government administration in Akwa-Ibom State”.
Senator Kawu expressed worries that the dream of achieving the objective of the local government system encountered harsh realities. Successive governments often eroded local autonomy, limiting their financial resources and control over decision-making.
The Senate, however, urged the President to use his leadership and influence to persuade the federating units and all critical stakeholders in the constitutional alteration processes and administrative bottlenecks to embrace the vision of full local government autonomy.
They also advocated for changes to the Constitution that would enshrine and guarantee genuine independence for local governments, granting them control over their resources, decision-making authority, and the power to chart their development paths.
Furthermore, the Senate urged federal agencies to fully comply with existing legal provisions that empower local governments, ensuring the timely release of allocated funds directly to their bank accounts and streamlining administrative processes.
Cov/ Bashir M
