36 States Governors set for action plan over Supreme Court Judgment on Local Govt autonomy
Chairman of Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, yesterday said the 36 state governors would meet on Wednesday over the autonomy of local government areas.
AbdulRazaq in a statement described the Supreme Court judgement on local government autonomy as a welcome development.
He said the NGF would meet to look at the issues wholly and come up with resolutions.
The statement signed by AbdulRazaq’s press secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, said: “We welcome the ruling of the Supreme Court; compliance is a given. Our attorneys-general have applied for the enrollment order which we will study carefully.
“By and large, the governors are happy with the devolution of powers with respect to local government autonomy. It relieves the governors of some burdens. People really don’t know how much states expend in bailing out local governments. It’s not going to affect the states, we’ve not tampered with local government funds.
“What the local governments have to do is to manage themselves, especially with the upcoming minimum wage. They have to manage their affairs and make sure salaries are paid and traditional rulers get their five percent. Those are the main issues.
“As you are aware, the tripartite committee (on the minimum wage) has met and submitted its report. The decision on the figure is the prerogative of the president, which he would also transmit to the National Assembly for a robust debate before it’s adopted.”
Meanwhile, a Lagos-based lawyer, Ugwuzor Adindu, says he does not believe that the scrapping of state electoral bodies would solve the problem of manipulating local government elections.Adindu said, “Sincerely, what’s the difference between INEC and the SIECs? Each of them works for the appointer.
“Again, if INEC is allowed to conduct all elections in the country, it negates the principle of federalism as contained in the present constitution.”
The senior lawyer also said unless there is a change of attitude by politicians, the Supreme Court judgement would not change anything.
He said, “On the issue of holding local government officials accountable, the question is; who nominates or selects the chairman as a candidate? It is the governor or the governor’s godfather.
“The local government chairmen have no political spine of their own. All they need to do is to sign a paper of how they spent the money, which they never did. If they refuse, they would instigate councilors to impeach the chairman.
