The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Local Government

  • NJF President seeks stakeholders support

    NJF President seeks stakeholders support

     

    President of the Nigeria Judo Federation (NJF) Prince Timothy Nsirim has called on all aggrieved stakeholders especially his opponents during the recently concluded election to support his course so as to take the game to enviable height.

    The former local government administrator had a smooth victory after the South West zone failed to elect representative from the zone, as Oshodi Musa, who has been on the board for twelve years and a candidate for the office of president and his rival in the zone, Bolaji Yusuf, a candidate for the office of Vice President had three votes each for five consecutive times.

    Nsirim, who is returning as president, stressed that his sincerity of purpose and commitment to the growth of Judo in the country was the reason why he was returned on opposed by the delegates.

    “We need not quarrel anymore; somebody must win an election but after the exercise, it is important we work together for the good of the game. I have called my people. Some have responded while others have not, the delegates voted for me because of my contribution to the development of Judo and they believe I am the man for the job,’’ said Nsirim.

    The Rivers State born sports administrator said his objective now is to take Judo to the grassroots and attract the cooperate world to partner the federation in the development of Judo.

    He stressed that Nigeria can be the destination for Judo on the continent, if persons of like minds work together and not administrators who are after what they will get from the system.

    ‘’My challenge here is to take Judo to the grassroots that is why I want people with like minds to work with me. Multinational companies should, as a matter of fact, invest in Judo and other sports in the country because back in their country they are part of the success story of their sportsmen but in Nigeria they display a lukewarm attitude to sports development.”

    Nsirim, however, frowned at comments made by a high-ranking official of the sports ministry, Mrs Tayo Oworeme, who said any federation Presidents who does not perform in his first three months in office would be shown the exit door and a re-run conducted to fill the vacuum created.

    “It is not going to be possible to make progress if we ease out under performing Presidents after three months office that is not the way to manage a system. For us in Judo, we are going to sit down and work out modalities that will help us achieve our goals, “he submitted

  • Meningitis kills 10 in Sokoto LGA – Chairman

    Meningitis has killed no fewer than 10 persons in Shagari Local Government Area of Sokoto State in the last few weeks, its Chairman, Alhaji Jabbi Shagari, had said.

    Shagari said on Tuesday in Sokoto that ”the deaths were recorded out of the several cases that are being treated across the local government”.

    ”Happily however, the epidemic had been brought under control in the area, just like in many other parts of the state,” he added.

    Shagari also commended the state government for donating assorted drugs and medicament worth over N2 million to the local government .

    The chairman said the drugs had helped tremendously in combating the menace, saying ” they were distributed to all the health facilities in the area.

    ” All the victims were treated free with the drugs and this was a formidable factor in combating the epidemic.

    ” I must particularly commend the Health Commissioner, Dr Balarabe Kakale, for his swift response to the outbreak of the epidemic across the state”.

  • NOA to communicate government policies, programmes to grassroots – DG

    NOA to communicate government policies, programmes to grassroots – DG

    The Director-General, National Orientation Agency, Dr Garba Abari, says the local government assembly, a feedback platform, will enable the agency to communicate government policies and programmes to the rural dwellers.

    Abari made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.

    According to him, most of the activities of government are communicated through electronic and print media, which many rural dwellers cannot afford.

    “As a result, many Nigerians are left in the dark about government policies and programmes, thereby hindering feedback.

    “It is therefore with the consciousness of these realities that NOA, in view of its mandate of sensitisation, orientation, awareness creation and harnessing feedback from citizens, has deployed several platforms to reach out.

    “The local government assembly is one of such platforms created and positioned to explain the rationale behind government activities to rural dwellers,” Abari said.

    He said that government had several policies and programmes that were of huge benefit to the citizens who were not aware of such programmes or do not understand the procedure to access the benefits.

    “We will use this assembly platform to disseminate information to and get feedback on government activities from the rural dwellers.

    “It is also a tool to fight corruption. When they know what is due to them, they will be able to enquire from their representatives in order not to be short changed,” he said.

  • Benue ready for local government autonomy

    Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has said the state is ready to grant local governments autonomy once the National Assembly passes the bill.

    Ortom gave the hint yesterday when he hosted National President of National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, at the Benue People’s House.

    Ortom said his administration had started implementing autonomy for local governments through transparent management of resources.

    “We will not interfere with local government funds. I was a local government chairman; once the people express their desire for local government autonomy, I will go with them,” he said.

    According to him, his transparency in money matters, by involving workers and their leaders in sharing every kobo, speaks volumes, even as he acknowledged the positive roles of NULGE to his administration.

    Comrade Khaleel lauded Ortom for being transparent in his management of state affairs.

    He praised him for carrying union leaders along inthe utilisation of funds, adding that when granted, local government autonomy would ease governance.

    Khaleel urged the governor to continue to be honest.

  • Issues in local government reforms

    The question of local government effectiveness in the present democratic dispensation has continued to agitate the minds of Nigerians. There is the widespread view that the impact of local governments has not been felt across the states of the federation since the inception of the fourth republic in 1999, leading to clamour for reforms to make the local governments accountable and service – driven. Proposals for local council reforms have understandably heightened in the face of the ongoing constitution review process. While the subject has constitutional, legal, political and administrative implications, this essay is concerned mainly with a tripod of the debate, namely, local government autonomy; state – local government joint account; and service conditions of elected office holders in the local government.

    By the common interpretation of constitutional and legal experts, the framers of the 1999 Constitution [as amended] conceived of local governments as extensions of state governments and accordingly granted only semi-autonomous status to local governments. This subordination of local councils to the authority of the states, especially via sections 7 [1] and 162 [5] of the constitution has however been cited as hampering effective operations of local governments. It is argued that the control exercised by the states over local governments has left the latter vulnerable to the manipulations and arm-twisting of the states. With this structural limitation, local government leaderships are under pressure to see their councils as accountable to state governments rather than the constituency that elected them. This is seen as a negation of the principle behind the establishment of democratically elected local government system. The strong need to insulate the local governments from undue influences of the states therefore, forms sufficient basis for granting the former full autonomy.

    The aggregate response to the above demand has centred on the traditional concept of federalism as a political system with only two tiers of government. Thus, local government autonomy is objected to on the ground that it is only the federal government and states that are recognised as the coordinate entities of the Nigerian state. Local governments do not qualify as federating units of the Nigerian state. They lack the institutions and structures of authority such as the judiciary and ministries which the recognised tiers of government are endowed with. Consistent also with the two-tier structure of Nigeria’s federalism, the constitution has vested states with the power to create local governments and regulate their activities. Consequently, to seek to upgrade local governments to autonomous councils would amount to creating a third tier, a perfect condition for endless conflicts between states and local governments.

    While acknowledging the merits of these positions, it is to be noted that we cannot speak in absolute terms in human affairs. It seems to us that the constitution is clear enough about the status of local governments and there is nothing inherently wrong with its provisions in this regard. Local councils should be free of encumbrances to play their roles in governance. There may be need for reaffirming the inviolability of the democratic order of local governments in the constitution. However, a system of checks and balances is necessary to preserve the overall system. Where there is clear evidence of the breakdown of governance, law and order in a local council, the state government should in our view, be empowered to temporarily intervene in the administration of the council in question.

    The state joint local government account has proved to be another source of controversy in the relationship between the councils and the states. There have been calls from some quarters for abrogation of section 162 [6] of the amended 1999 constitution which establishes the said joint account for eroding the fiscal freedom of the councils. The joint account has been criticized as detrimental to the interests of the local governments as its operation has allegedly been attended by diversion of council funds; sundry deductions; as well as delay in release of council funds. These factors may have had the cumulative effect of weakening the system and discouraging bright people from wanting to serve in the local government.

    The other perspective to the issue of state joint local government account is arrived at from an understanding of the constitutional intent for this system of governance. Local governments as earlier observed, underscore the decentralization of the state into smaller units for closer administration. And a principal means of this grassroots administration is the financial control exercised by the state over the local councils. The case for a joint account is further captured by the combined provisions of sections 1 [a] [i] [ii] and 2 [a] [b] [c] of the fourth schedule of the constitution which itemizes functions of local governments to be carried out in collaboration with state governments. With such extensive joint ventures, the issue of joint account becomes a given. What should be of concern then is devising ways of facilitating operations the joint account to ensure that the councils receive what is due to them accordingly.

    It would be worthwhile to have a fixed tenure for elected council office holders. The continued tinkering with the tenure of local governments by state legislatures is retrogressive and an unnecessary display of power.  A two-year term of office will hardly achieve anything for obvious reasons. Let the local governments have a constitutionally guaranteed three-year mandate.

    In view of the limited functions of local governments, their lean geographical size and financial capability, it makes sense to consider a system of part – time councilors to be paid only sitting allowances and other working expenses. It should be enough to have only the chairman and deputy chairman on full time basis. This view is canvassed mindful of the fact that part of the council’s sphere of responsibility also falls within the terrain of traditional rulership and town unions. Part – time councillorship would discourage those who have no value to add to governance from crowding the process.

    Focused and committed leadership can make the difference at the local government level. But above all, the electorate must take their destiny in their own hands. The various town unions, interest groups, community associations etc have a duty to periodically demand a report card from the local political authorities. The local governments will be compelled to sit up when the electorate insists on verifiable stewardship.

     

    • Afuba is a political scientist and media consultant.

  • Dogara and local government autonomy

    SIR: The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Yakubu Dogara is championing a worthy but difficult cause- amendment of the 1999 constitution to grant political and financial autonomy to the 774 local governments in Nigeria.

    Dogara and his colleagues’ efforts are coming at the right time because the local government system in Nigeria is not working. The reason is mainly due to state governments’ overwhelming control of this third tier of government through the operation of the unpopular joint accounts, bribery, extortion, embezzlement, graft, nepotism and political patronage prevalent in the system.

    The founders of the Nigerian local government system and the crafters of the Nigerian constitution envisaged a local government system that will bring development along the local people’s culture and expectations. But sadly, the system is today a true reflection of the decay in the Nigeria state. It has been forgotten in Nigeria’s development equation- Nigerians put more expectations and emphases on the President and the governors, rather than the local authorities.

    Dogara was quoted to have said that the ongoing constitution alteration is the only way to guarantee development at the grassroots. However, the fourth schedule of the 1999 Nigerian constitution coupled with some important judgments made by the Supreme Court on issues affecting the local government system are good enough to strengthen the local government system.

    The fourth schedule of the Nigerian constitution has clearly spelt out the functions of a local government council, but they have been abused and neglected. Imagine the local councils performing some of their functions as stated in the Nigerian constitution, for example: provision of some basic services.

    Dogara has heard the cry of the people to grant local government councils political and financial independence. This will checkmate governors’ abuse of local government authorities and bring sanity to the administration of local government councils.

    The local government system has failed not only because of corruption, but also because of the negligence of the public and civil society organisations. A saying goes thus: ‘The less involved we are in our local community politics, the less aware we are of corruption in the system.’ Instead of serving as channels through which development and government’s policies impact on the local people, as well as serve as a political training centre to afford future leaders opportunity to learn the art of good governance, the system has been transformed into breeding ground for bad leaders.

    Dogara and his colleagues’ determination to grant the local government system financial and administrative autonomy will reinvigorate it. Most importantly, the elimination of the joint accounts will bring relief to the councils and enhance their capacity to perform. It will also reduce the burden of public expectation on governors and make local councils to be responsive to their constitutional duties.

    Due to the operation of joint accounts, most local councils in Nigeria cannot pay salaries. And when they are able to, what is left is always too small to spend on development and it ends up in some officials’ personal pockets. Though, the idea behind the joint account was to eliminate corruption in the local governments, it has eventually turned out to be counter-productive to the local government system.

    So many Nigerians are delighted with this landmark initiative from Dogara and his colleagues to grant full autonomy to the local council.  Nonetheless, while granting autonomy to local councils is laudable, there are other variables that are pertinent if the local government councils must be effective. These include, having responsible people vie for local council positions; better attention from the public and NGOs; holding the local authorities to a set of standards based on their respective cultures. With these, among others, the local government system will start working.

     

    • Zayyad I. Muhammad,

     Jimeta, Adamawa State.

  • Another person killed in Ekiti

    Another person killed in Ekiti

    A local government staff has been murdered in Ado-Ekiti, barely 24 hours after the kidnapping and consequent killing of Ekiti Police Command paymaster by gunmen.

    The local government staff, an engineer, was identified as Kunle Enisan.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Enisan, a father of two, was in his early 40s.

    Sources told NAN that he was an employee of Ido/Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti, and was killed in the wee hours of Monday at Housing Estate area, along Afao Road, Ado-Ekiti.

    Relaying how the incident happened, the deceased in-law, Mr Adeoye Aribasoye, said the victim was returning home with his wife in his Toyota Highlander Jeep and stopped over on the way, while the wife dropped and headed home.

    “ When it was getting too long, the wife became agitated because the deceased don’t keep late nights.

    “ The wife started looking for him. Just a few metres from home, she and the search party saw his car parked few metres from home and the doors were opened

    “But because of the fear, they could not see him on the ground on the other side of the car, they later came and saw his lifeless body beside where his car was parked,” he said.

    Aribasoye added that the family immediately reported the matter to the police.

    Ekiti Police Command Public Relations Officer, Mr Alberto Adeyemi, confirmed the incident.

    He said that detectives were already on the trail of the perpetrators of the nefarious act.

  • Anti-Corruption: UN urges procurement officers to block leakages

    Public Procurement Officers at the state and local government levels in Niger state have been urged to sit up and be alert to their responsibilities to enable government have value for money, block leakages and fight corruption.

    The Focal officer of the United Nations Development Programme in Niger state, Mallam Baba Wachiko threw this challenge during a training workshop for Procurement Officers in Minna.

    According to him, with the anti-corruption wind blowing, the state and local government councils need to be proactive by taking procurement issues seriously.

    He also urged the Niger State government to establish effective Public Procurement Boards across the local government areas of the state to monitor public procurement and execution of capital projects at the local level and constitute the state public procurement Board Governing to bring an end to the flaunting of guidelines and regulations of the execution of capital projects in the state.

    The Director of Planning, Research and Statistics in the state Ministry of Works, Mallam idris Lafen decried lack of due process in the award of contracts at the local government councils, advising on competitive bidding of contract to get value for money.

  • How feasible is local government autonomy?

    How feasible is local government autonomy?

    Local government autonomy has been on the front burner for a long time. President Muhammadu Buhari has lent his voice against the excessive state government control over the councils. LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the effects of lack of administrative and fiscal autonomy on the performance of the third-tier of government.

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s support for the amendment of the constitution to pave the way for local government autonomy has reopened the debate on the contentious issue. When he received the leadership of the Association of Local Governments in Nigeria (ALGON), the president  called for a constitutional amendment that would clearly define the relationship among the three tiers of government.

    The debate focuses on the local government effectiveness and the joint account operated by the state and the local governments. Many people are of the view that, without administrative and financial autonomy, it will be very difficult for the local government to carry out its constitutional mandate to the people at the grassroots. Analysts perceive local government as a viable instrument for rural transformation and for the delivery of social services to the people. However, despite its strategic importance to national development, they noted that the local government’s contribution has been minimal. Some observers agreed that the ineffectiveness of the local government derives primarily from the excessive government control.

    Beyond that, Nigerians are divided on the issue. While some say autonomy for local government will speed -up development in the country others believe it will worsen the corruption.

    President Buhari observed that the relationship between the three tiers of government is not a very nice one, especially between the local government and the states. “The states feel like they own local government, if they are of the same party. It is worse if they are not. This is a very serious constitutional problem and unless there is absolute clarity and transparency, the relationship will continue to be exploited against the interest of the ordinary people of the country”.

    The President of Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, painted a gloomy picture of local government in Nigeria. He said the local government is in a parlous state; it is chronically under resourced, it is not managed efficiently and it’s unable to provide the services the people need.

    Khaleel noted that the functions and responsibilities of local government have been hijacked by the state government. According to him, while development has eluded the people at the local level, the governors corruptly enrich themselves with the money that belongs to local government.

    The NULGE president said: “In Nigeria, not only is the local government continually undermined and over-ruled by federal and state governments, elections for local assemblies are ignored or are undermined, and it is definitely postponed. In their place are established transition or caretaker committees largely made up of appointees as a reward for loyalty to the powers that be. Their legal status being such that they do not have the authority to draw down funds earmarked for local government functions.

    “Revenue collection by local government in Nigeria, despite the legislation in place, is chronically hampered because funds from central government  are misplaced, withheld or subject to ‘penalties ‘ that undermine its value, and this often results in the remainder not being sufficient to pay salaries. In Nigeria, some local government workers have not been paid for up to 18 months ‘ and the much heralded harmonisation of terms and conditions of state and local government workers has failed to materialise 10 years after being agreed.

    “Today, almost all revenue generating items starting from sales of markets daily tolls, construction of roads, motor parks, slaughter slabs, environmental services and rates collection have been outsourced or contracted out by state governments. The law of Internally Generated Revenue stipulates that the State shall give to the local government 10 per cent of whatever is being generated on a monthly basis notwithstanding what the local government themselves can get.  In practice, this is not attainable and no State has ever been punished for reneging or otherwise”.

    Governors Forum against LG autonomy

    The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) is stoutly opposed to any move to grant autonomy to local governments. The body has continued to maintain that local councils are integral part of state governments. The Forum’s argument is premised on the fact that, in all known federation, the federating units are usually the states and the centre. That autonomy will only make sense in the relationship between the states and the centre where we look at a spectrum that runs on the two extremes of unitary system and confederation. The governors argue that, in a federal system, there is no provision for local government as a federating partner and to talk of one is to engage in absurdity.

    According to the NGF, the understanding over the years has been that in a true federalism, the issue relating to the creation, delineation and funding of local authorities is within the constitutional purview of states, which have political and judicial status that the local government do not have. The states are federating units while the local governments are merely administrative units.

    The Forum admitted that local governments have politico-legal existence in so far as the constitution recognised them and even listed their names. “These local governments so named are the beneficiaries of federal allocations, just like the states and the federal government. It is this existing arrangement that has made some to erroneously assume and even argue that the local governments are on the same level of autonomy as states and federal governments.

    “What we have today is a disruptive and abominable legacy of military rule. It was the practice of the military to create local governments and even states. Since the military went on a frenzy of proliferating the local governments, it took on itself the burden of its funding, just as it was funding the states from the Federation Account. The military then passed on this legacy at its disengagement in 1999. Nevertheless, the issue of local governments’ autonomy should only come into play within the context of their relationship with their states,” the NGF said.

    Why LGs are ineffective

    A political scientist, Dr Rufus Oladimeji, agreed with President Buhari that the solution to the local government lies in the constitutional amendment. He frowned at the practice whereby local governments with democratically elected executive are answerable to the state government. Once they are accountable to the state governors they can’t perform their functions; local governments should be accountable to the people just as the states and federal governments are, he insisted.

    Oladimeji stressed that the constitutional provision that tied the local government to the state government should be amended. “It shouldn’t be there. Remove all those elements that hinder local government from operating as a tier of government. The joint account should be abrogated and they should be allowed to conduct their own election independently. It is necessary to have a full blown local government with full autonomy”, he suggested.

    He said: “putting local councils in the pockets of state governments do not encourage competent and qualified people to serve as chairmen or councillors. The governors remove chairmen and councillors at will either because they don’t belong to the ruling party in the state or they are not willing to do the bidding of the governor. The state governments intervene in their activities. The state governors determine what to do with joint account; the funds on many occasions are diverted. This is not good for the country and our democracy”.

    Aformer local government chairman, Dr Alex Ogbonna, said the dereliction of local government can be attributed to the lack of financial autonomy, corruption and undue interference in local government affairs, with regards to the areas of Joint state- local government account which gives the state government undue benefit over local government.

    Ogbonna said the states have undermined the financial viability of local government by diverting statutorily allocated grants for local governments as well as encroaching on their revenue yielding functions like markets, motor parks, tenement rates and liquor licensing. He described the hijacking of local government services by state governments as a grave concern, and especially of those elements of service delivery that deliver an income.

    He said the tendency to ignore the political factor in the management of local government had reduced local government to instruments of regulation and control. According to him, local governments which ought to be seen as instrument of mobilisation is usually not complex and generally does not require sophisticated and highly qualified personnel for effective performance.

    Local Government in other countries

    Local government in the United States, Switzerland, Australia, Germany and other countries have huge responsibilities and resources, but still operate within the purview of their states.

    In Australia, the state governments are constitutionally responsible for local government. The Federal Constitution sets out this responsibility, and each state decides on the role of local government in its own constitution; any major change would require the constitution to be changed. In recent years, this constitutional relationship has been bypassed by strengthening relations between federal government and local government. The Federal Government has supported particular initiatives financially. There are also signs of occasionally alliance between federal and local government in order to ‘squeeze’ the states.

    The United States also has a federal structure. Each state is responsible for local government, and each state has different approaches. Local governments are ‘creatures of the States’. The states can therefore change the status of local government although this rarely happens.

    In Germany, the local government is characterised by diversity, especially in its unique city states. The Federal Republic of Germany consisted of 11 Lander (States) when it was founded. Since re-unification in 1990, Germany has 16 Lander including the three city states of Hamburg, Bremen and Berlin. Regarding the assignment of land tasks, the Basic Law merely distinguishes between two orders: the federation and the Lander.

    Austria belongs to the category of the federal system where local government is extensively regulated by the federal constitution. The more rigorous the federal constitutional regime, however, the less space remains for the Lander and their legislation. Even then, the competence to regulate local government is mainly assigned to the Lander not the federal legislature.

    New Zealand has the system closest to that in the United Kingdom. There is no written constitution and, therefore, no constitutional position for local government. The national parliament can make changes to the system as it deems fit. New Zealand’s local government went through a major period of reform in the late 1980’s. The 1989 Local Government Act defines local government’s general responsibilities.

    Third tier of government, a myth?

    The general assumption is that there are three-tiers of government,  federal, state and local governments. In reality, the local government is an appendage of the state government.

    The financial control exercised by state governments reduces the autonomy of the local government and this paves the way for financial manipulation of the local government. Section 162(5) of the 1999 Constitution states that the amount standing to the credit of local government councils in the federation accounts shall be allocated to the state for the benefit of their local government councils on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by National Assembly.

    Section 162(6) states that each state shall maintain a special account called the “State Joint Local Government Account” into which shall be paid allocation to the local government councils of the state from Federation Account and from the Government of the State.

    Besides, the local government budget must be presented to the state governor for approval. These provisions make local government subservient to the state government.

  • Liberating our local government councils

    Liberating our local government councils

    This column rarely agrees with former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s often trenchant, truculent, intemperate and superficial views on issues, events and personalities. It is my view that Chief Obasanjo is too preoccupied with diligently seeking to remove the speck in the eyes of others while steadfastly ignoring the monstrous log sticking out of his face, believing perhaps that it is an adornment of great attraction. His readiness to maul people he believes are his adversaries and to strip them naked in the market place, for me, symbolises an irritating and annoying sense of hubris. It also betrays a desperate bid to hide some deep-seated psychological disorientation beneath the garb of brashness and an unwarranted sense of self-importance.

    But there are times when you must be intellectually honest enough to admit that the man is right even while fundamentally disagreeing with his methods as well as his delusion that he is not also culpable for Nigeria’s post-colonial woes. He was given the rare and unprecedented opportunity to preside over the affairs of Nigeria, first as a military Head of State then an elected President for two terms. On the two occasions he left the country worse off. But then, I digress. Obasanjo certainly got it right, for instance, when he recently wrote an excoriating letter to the National Assembly leadership vehemently condemning the humongous, opaque and immoral amounts of public resources the legislators appropriate to themselves annually for the most frivolous reasons. His stance resonated, well with large swathes of the public because of the grim economic crisis under which millions of Nigerians are suffering in agony.

    The defensive response of some of the legislators was to the effect that as President, Obasanjo tried to induce the National Assembly to give a stamp of legality to his aborted Third Term agenda designed to perpetuate himself in office. In other words, he has no business moralising to the National Assembly because corruption was rife in the system even when Obasanjo was Head of State. This surely cannot be a credible defence. The import of this reasoning is that the legislators are conceding that they are criminally enriching themselves to the detriment of the welfare of the vast majority of Nigerians because there was corruption in the system before their election as national legislators. The reasoning is untenable.

    Obasanjo’s remarks at the inaugural conference of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (IGPP) at the University of Ibadan, on Monday, February 1, were also largely true and thought provoking although he opened himself to charges of hypocrisy, which may not be entirely untenable. On that occasion, Obasanjo attributed Nigeria’s stunted growth to state governors who, in his view, allegedly divert huge revenue allocations meant for the Local Government Councils to other purposes. The governors, according to Obasanjo had rendered public institutions in their domains irrelevant for all practical purposes.

    In Obasanjo’s searing words – “Is there good governance in the 36 states of the federation where some governors have become sole administrators acting like Emperors? These governors have rendered public institutions irrelevant and useless. Is there development going on in the 774 constitutionally recognised local governments which are known to have been appropriated by governors? And, of course, when governors take their money, the chairmen of the councils take the balance of the money, put it on the table and share among council members”.

    Lamenting that Nigeria has not internalised the necessary values imperative for the sustenance of presidentialism and federalism Obasanjo said: “When are we going to able to practice federalism in a way that promotes healthy competition among the states for the benefit of the citizens? When are we going to subordinate partisanship to collective goals and deploy the full potential of our diversity to advance public causes that serve the aspirations of the teeming masses of our people crying out under the cringe of poverty, disease, unemployment and neglect’”.

    Of course, many will dismiss Obasanjo’s lamentations here as nothing but deceptive and sanctimonious posturing. And they surely have a point. Obasanjo has no right to claim that any governor is behaving like an emperor and undermine public institutions. He is the least qualified person to lecture any one on the virtues of federalism. As President of Nigeria for eight years – 1999 and 2007, Obasanjo behaved like an imperial President. He was the ultimate President as Emperor. He manipulated the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to impeach governors through ways that flagrantly breached the constitution.

    He forcefully and illegally withheld the allocation of funds meant for Local Government Councils in Lagos just because the state exercised her constitutional right to create 37 new councils. Up till the end of his tenure, Obasanjo refused to obey the Supreme Court judgement affirming that the Federal Government had no right or powers to withhold any funds statutorily allocated to any tier of government.

    Beyond this, in his sweeping generalization of the governors as being responsible for the country’s stunted development, Obasanjo does not take into account the skewed fiscal allocation formula that allocates over 57% of the country’s revenues to the Federal Government while the 36 states and 774 Local Government Councils share approximately 43%. Where then can the funds be to fuel development in a meaningful manner especially when the constitution constricts many states, especially the states rich in mineral and other natural resources, from exploiting such endowment for the greatest happiness of the greatest number of their people. Obasanjo had the opportunity as two-term President for eight years to bequeath to the nation a viable revenue allocation formula that reflects genuine fiscal federalism and enables all tiers of government to serve as engines of development in their respective zones. He failed abysmally and woefully in this regard.

    But then, it will be most irresponsible and unproductive to throw the baby away with the bathwater. We must distinguish between the messenger and the message. The critical point Obasanjo raises centres on how the 774 Local Government areas can be made viable and development-driven.  It is a genuine concern we must all share. Local governments across the country are widely perceived as citadels of corruption and sordid emblems of inefficiency and manifest unproductivity. Obasanjo’s claim that state governors divert monies accruing to Local Government Councils is only part of the story.  The truth is that even with the funds available to them, the various councils could still do much more than they are presently.

    Some have recommended that the States/Local Government Joint Account to which all monies accruing to the Local Government from the Federation Account are paid before being distributed to the Local Governments should be scrapped. They believe this will enhance the autonomy of Local Governments    by enabling them to receive their allocations directly from the Federation Account. This arrangement could be fraught with danger of tying the Local Governments to the apron string of the Federal Government and strengthening the centralist impulses in the federation at the expense of the greater decentralisation we desire.

    Others have suggested that the idea of elected Local Governments under the control of the states should be done away with and replaced with that of administrative local units under the total control of the state government. Yet others contend that the presidential system obtainable at the local government should be discarded and the local councils resort to the parliamentary system that was the practice before the various local government reforms of the military era.  These suggestions are simply ways of running away from rather than solving the problem. To do away with elected local government councils will rob grassroots communities the opportunity to participate in deciding who governs them at the tier of government closest to the ordinary man.  In the same vein, a reversion to the parliamentary system at the local government level cannot solve any problem. The values that sabotage and make a presidential system of government unworkable will also have the same effect on a parliamentary style of government.

    Although there are no easy solutions to the emergence of a viable, vigorous, transparent and effective Local Government system, I offer one suggestion as a starting point. And that is to ensure free, fair and credible elections at the grassroots where votes are not just counted but they actually count. This will entail either scrapping the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIEC) and transferring their functions to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or strengthening the autonomy of SIEC and transform them  from the cruel mockery of democracy and integrity they are today. A vibrant electoral process at the grass roots that lets people have a genuine say in who  or which party governs them at any point in time will begin to create the real revolutionary ferment at the grassroots that will also strengthen democracy at other levels of government.