AS the National Conference continues plenary on the recommendations of its 20 committees today, President of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Ozo Nwabueze Okafor, has urged the delegates to shun moves that would further emasculate the local councils.
One of the confab committees recommended that the scrapping of the councils as a tier of government and yet another recommended devolving of power from the Federal Government to the states and councils and better funding.
Looking at these issues, Okafor, who said local councils were expecting a lot from the confab, enjoined the delegates to recommend policies that would the councils functional, noting that the only way to make the local government system very effective in Nigeria is to establish democratic structures in all the 774 councils in the country.
On challenges faced by local councils
Local governments in Nigeria have to contend with issues of being emasculated by the states and inability to fulfill their mandates because of lack of autonomy. We have stated that over the years and we have continued to talk about it. Local governments in Nigeria need to be free so that they can take on the peculiar problems of their different local areas and address them because they are closest to the people and know what the people in the grassroots need. Within a state, local government areas have peculiar challenges. There are some ethnic groups in the country that exist in a particular local government.
Local governments in Nigeria have to contend with issues of being emasculated by the states and inability to fulfill their mandates because of lack of autonomy. We have stated that over the years and we have continued to talk about it. Local governments in Nigeria need to be free so that they can take on the peculiar problems of their different local areas and address them because they are closest to the people and know what the people in the grassroots need. Within a state, local government areas have peculiar challenges. There are some ethnic groups in the country that exist in a particular local government.
Promoting language
They need the local government to drive their objective as a people. And they need their local government to promote their language and their culture because some of these ethnic groups are so small that they are swallowed up by the others in the state not to talk of the country.
They need the local government to drive their objective as a people. And they need their local government to promote their language and their culture because some of these ethnic groups are so small that they are swallowed up by the others in the state not to talk of the country.
On irregular conduct of council polls
Election is very critical because it firms the government. Some states could not organise local government elections for a long as 10 years. But for those periods, elections were organised for state Houses of Assembly, National Assembly, gubernatorial and Presidential more than three times in those areas.
Election is very critical because it firms the government. Some states could not organise local government elections for a long as 10 years. But for those periods, elections were organised for state Houses of Assembly, National Assembly, gubernatorial and Presidential more than three times in those areas.
Some of those states would tell you they could not local government election because of security challenges. It sounds funny.
If you can hold Presidential, governorship and election into National and State Assemblies and you cannot hold local government elections that is telling you that the problem is not security.
If you can hold Presidential, governorship and election into National and State Assemblies and you cannot hold local government elections that is telling you that the problem is not security.
But the good news is that, unlike when we came in that we had 11 states that had democratically elected local government councils, we now have about 24 states within the last two years. We are asking that we should have democratically elected local government councils.
Advice to the National Conference and the issue of referendum
At the end of the day, the bottom line is the people. My advice to the people at the conference is that they should ensure that whatever they recommend should be one that addresses the needs of the people of Nigeria. In spite of the conference, we have democratic structure that we cannot ignore. Certain people will feel comfortable with adopting whatever comes out of the conference.
At the end of the day, the bottom line is the people. My advice to the people at the conference is that they should ensure that whatever they recommend should be one that addresses the needs of the people of Nigeria. In spite of the conference, we have democratic structure that we cannot ignore. Certain people will feel comfortable with adopting whatever comes out of the conference.
We have democratic structures that will challenge that position if you try to overlook them. But we have a shortcut to this: if there is a very strong feeling that we should have a referendum, why not make our representatives in the National Assembly pass a bill for a referendum for whatever is the outcome of the conference? There's a way you can do this and kill too birds with a stone because we have democratic structure you cannot ignore.
The President has the power to establish the conference; National Assembly has power to make laws for the country. So, why not make a bill to the National Assembly saying that the conference will go for a referendum? And in an election year, will somebody at the National Assembly say that he is fighting against what Nigerians feel should be the direction for the country?
On how to make the local government system more effective
We have to ensure that we establish democratic structures at the local government councils, that is fundamental and that is what the statutes say. Our Constitution makes it very clear that the administration at the local government should be by democratically elected councils.
We have to ensure that we establish democratic structures at the local government councils, that is fundamental and that is what the statutes say. Our Constitution makes it very clear that the administration at the local government should be by democratically elected councils.
First and foremost, that is what we should have, so that the local government will have a legislative council that can plan, look at the budget and pass the budget, and can ensure that the different needs of the different wards, communities, quarters, towns are addressed.
Financial autonomy
There is also need for administrative and financial autonomy. The local governments need to have the resources to carry out programmes that will affect the lives of the people. The people are so removed from government because we do not have functional and robust local government system.
There is also need for administrative and financial autonomy. The local governments need to have the resources to carry out programmes that will affect the lives of the people. The people are so removed from government because we do not have functional and robust local government system.
The gaps between the people in the different communities and the states and federal governments are so wide and distant. They don't have the access to reach the state and federal government. The governments they can reach are the local governments.
So, if we put that in place, we would be able to get right a lot of things that are going wrong in Nigeria. Some of the challenges we have in Nigerian arose because we don't have a functional local government system.
If you watch, you will see that most of the states where the security problems started don't have functional local government system. Some of them just started having local government elections. Some like Borno State have not had local government elections since 1998. So, you need to have a functional local government that is really functional, that the people can accept and that can address the needs of the people.
There must be local governments where you have councillors representing the different communities. The people can reach the councillors even if they can't solve all their problems, at least someone, has listened to them