ANAMBRA State Governor Chukwuma Soludo has declared that it is impossible to grant full autonomy to Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
According to the governor, if granted, the autonomy could lead to “humongous chaos” and impact negatively on development.
Soludo said these on Tuesday, October 15, after signing the Anambra State Local Government Administration Law titled “Anambra Local Government Administration Law 2024,” at the Governor’s Lodge in Awka, the state capital.
The law which has been seen by many as an attempt to whittle down the power of local government chairmen in the state was passed by the State House of Assembly last Thursday, October 10.
Soludo emphasised the need for state supervision of local governments by pointing out that Section 7 of the Constitution gives state governments the authority to pass legislation for the management of local governments.
“The attendant challenges before the issue of local government autonomy are such that would certainly deepen the fate of the system and spell doom for the expected beneficiaries of the process if not well planned.”
Soludo explained that the new legislation aimed at ensuring consistency, transparency, and collaboration among the different tiers of government.
“The new laws by the Anambra House of Assembly are therefore consequential to give operational life to the Supreme Court judgment and not to undermine it. If the State House of Assembly abdicates this constitutional duty, the local government will then have no law on the use and management of its finance,” he stated.
He suggested that cooperation between the state and local governments was essential, cautioning that if adequate coordination was not maintained, many local governments might have financial crises and could need state bailouts.
Soludo added that the Federal Government had exclusive rights over resources, but the state had exclusive rights over the land and insisted that at the state level, each state spent a fortune to generate revenues.
According to him, no tier of government can function without the collaboration of others.
The governor dismissed as baseless the claim that state governors coerce local government chairmen into sending money to the state.
Soludo said governors had been frequently criticised for attempting to control local government funds with the mindset that the funds are being mismanaged.
He added that this accusation stemmed from societal scepticism, where public offices are viewed as opportunities for personal gain, fostering an environment of mistrust.
The ICIR reported in May that the Nigerian government filed a suit at the Supreme Court against the 36 state governors over the nation’s local governments’ autonomy, urging the apex court to issue an order prohibiting the governors from arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders.
The federal government sought the court to authorise the direct transfer of funds from the federation account to local governments in line with the provisions of the Constitution against the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
On Thursday, July 11, the Supreme Court granted the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) financial autonomy ruling that it was unconstitutional for the state government to hold on to or manage such allocations and directed the LGAs to commence managing their funds.
Besides, the court barred the governors from sacking constitutionally-elected local government chairmen.
The ICIR reports that governors have been blamed for the underdevelopment of local governments in Nigeria.
They have been accused of squirrelling the funds meant for that tier of government and appointing their loyalists to manage them and help them loot the local government finances.
A reporter with the ICIR
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