…State Governors have annexed the local government authorities and tied them to their apron strings
The poor system of running the Local Government Administration in Nigeria has been brought to limelight with a view to demand for positive change by the populace. The call was made by a Non-Governmental Organization, the Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action), at a press conference held recently in Enugu, the capital of Enugu State. They said they have lined up plans to educate the people especially rural dwellers, beginning with staff of the Local Government Councils through the National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, on how to track development through seeking “good governance and people participation”.
In a statement presented to newsmen at the press briefing, Prince Edegbuo, Senior Programs Officer for the Social Development Integrated Centre said the citizens are called upon to engage their elected representatives so as to amend the constitution to make for a truly independent local government system without the encumbrances of the state government.
Ozor Ugonna (middle) flanked by other members
Noting that Local Government is critical in citizens mobilization for effective governance, Social Action said the new legislative framework should make provisions that ensure Local Governments are granted full autonomy and include efforts to foster fiscal discipline as well as promote self-sufficiency through internally generated revenue.
Speaking through the Executive Director of Rural Engagement and Development Foundation (REDFoundation), Ozor Ugonna Kingsley, the body said in parts, “…it has become necessary to organize this press conference to galvanize support for the call a transparent, accountable, inclusive and a truly independent local government system. A system that supports probity and accountability to the people at the grassroots, who elected them.
“The ultimate objective of (the) local government is to bring government closer to the people at the local level as clearly spelt out by the 1999 constitution… As the third tier, the local government is responsible for social care, schools, housing and planning and waste collection among other functions. Unfortunately, the local government in Nigeria has not been able to live up to its responsibility hugely due to its fiscal independence, as an appendage to the states.
“The 774 local governments in Nigeria received a total of 20.3 trillion naira from 2001 – 2019 as allocation from the federal government. In spite of these remarkable disbursements, what is left to show for it in terms of development can only be obtained on paper. The communities have continued to endure years of decay in health and educational infrastructural (sic) and a decline in the living conditions and standards… In 2020, Enugu South and Aninri local government (councils) received about N2bn and N1.7bn respectively. Whether the development in these local government (areas) is commensurate with these sums received is left for you to judge.
“Sub-national (State) governments in Nigeria have cultivated the culture of closed budgeting regimes, thereby blocking out citizens’ participation which now provided fertile ground for opacity and lack of accountability in the management of public resources…”
Social Action believes that a transparent local government system backed by a well-defined legislative framework to manage its resources subject only to the wishes of the people will deliver the needed development. “It is when we have an independent local government that the people can confidently engage the council authorities to account for the resources that (they) are elected to manage on behalf of the people.”
They called on the citizens to be concerned about what is going on in the local councils and also ask questions about budgets and financial transactions of their local government councils.
Rural Engagement and Development Foundation (REDFoundation), representing Social Action based in Port Harcourt, is the implementation vehicle for the project in Enugu State. Other members of the team include Ozor Justus, Communication strategist, Nkemjika Joy, Advocacy Officer and Vivian Maduako HR Manager.
The organization says it has concluded arrangement to conduct pilot training for Aninri, and Enugu South Local Govt. staff respectively, under National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE. GMTNews
