The policy position of the All Progressives Congress (APC) began to unfold yesterday as its governors opposed local governments autonomy.
The governors also said the power to alter the revenue allocation formula, which is vested in the President, should be transferred to the National Assembly.
The 11 governors met under the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.
The House of Representatives voted for councils’ autonomy in the proposed amendment to the Constitution.
Apart from host Governor Tanko Al-Makura, the meeting was attended by Governors Kashim Shettima (Borno), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Abdulazeez Yari (Zamfara), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun) and Adams Oshiomhole (Edo). Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha was represented by his deputy Prince Eze Madumere. Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Geidam, who is away in Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj, sent an apology.
Fayemi read the communiqué of the meeting, saying: “The Forum commits itself to the process of APC party formation and consolidation, in line with the on-going efforts of the interim national leadership and with the understanding of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) as it affects the development of healthy relationship among the members of the APC.
“The PGF discussed constitutional amendment extensively and resolved that the issue of Local Government Administration, recognising the fact that Federalism is the basis of our sovereignty, is a matter within the purview of the Federating Unit and every attempt to legislate by the National Assembly on any aspect of Local Government Administration will tilt the country towards a unitary state. This will undermine and weaken the fundamental principles of our federalism.
“The Forum deliberated on revenue allocation and notes that in spite of recommendations made to the Presidency, no effect has been given to the extant proposals on the need to give more funds to the states and local governments because that is where the citizens reside.
“The PGF further recommends that the powers to alter the revenue allocation formula currently with the Presidency should be vested in the National Assembly henceforth.
Fayemi said the meeting also discussed a number of national issues in the on-going “dialogue to salvage the nation, proffer practical solutions on moving Nigeria forward as well as strategies to complement efforts of the interim national executives to strengthen the party” .
The Forum praised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for rising to the occasion by registering the APC in the overall national interest.
It, however, hoped that such “nationalistic and patriotic position of INEC” shall continue to guide its conduct with respect to its statutory mandate.
The Forum expressed confidence in the interim national executive of the APC “in its on-going efforts to reposition the party as a credible alternative to the teeming Nigerians that are yearning for change”.
Other decisions reached include: “The Forum condemns the killing of security operatives at Lakyo by the outlawed Ombatse militia and commends the Nasarawa State Government for the proactive steps taken in instituting a Judicial Commission of Inquiry with a view to bringing to book the perpetrators of this dastardly act.
“The Forum condemns unreservedly the repression in Egypt, following the unconstitutional ouster of a democratically-elected government and calls on the International community to ensure speedy resolution of the crisis.”
Elaborating on the position of the governors on council autonomy, Oshiomhole said: “We are in a federal system. The basis of our federation is the states, not local governments, and we are not going to reinvent the wheel in Nigeria.
“To legislate on autonomy can be handled by state governments that believe in it. You can’t impose one drug that cures all ailments. The fact of our diversity itself suggests that it is better to allow certain issues to be dealt with at the level of state governments.
“If Nasarawa State, for example, feels that it wants to give additional responsibilities to the local governments, the Nasarawa State House of Assembly should have the power to so legislate. That power should not reside in Abuja. That is the issue. Who decides what is the issue?
“Abuja should not be the one prescribing one drug for every Nigerian ailment. We have Houses of Assembly and they are just as responsible as their counterparts in Abuja. That is the point we are making.”
He added: “But I also want to say that too often we forget how we got to where we are. In the name of autonomy in the past, some local governments were unable or unwilling to pay salaries of primary school teachers, such that in some states’ teachers were not paid for about five months.
“The result was that in those states, teachers were on strike endlessly. Part of the intervention now is to insist that local governments must give priority to the payment of primary school teachers’ salaries. If that means intervention, it is a progressive intervention.
“So, autonomy is not an end in itself; it is about the purpose of autonomy and the character of that autonomy and you cannot be autonomous from your own people.
“The Federal Government must recognise that we are in a federation. The Edo State House of Assembly can decide to legislate and give more powers, money and responsibilities to local governments. It has the power to do so. That power should not reside in Abuja. That is the point we are making.”
Fashola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, urged the proponents of local government autonomy to reread their Constitution.
He said: “I think the first thing to say is to identify with the position taken by the governor of Edo State. But perhaps as we discuss this, it is for us to understand the Constitution which guarantees a system of democratically elected local governments by laws made by the State Houses of Assembly for the purposes of ensuring that that system works.
“It also provides that it is the states that create the local governments, first by holding a referendum, secondly by enacting a law and thereafter sending the list to the National Assembly.
“Some of the things we are saying here is that remove that listing from inside the Constitution because if the local governments are created by the state, why should they seek autonomy from an agency or an institution that did not create them?
“The parents should decide whether their children will go out at night and not to go and ask the neighbour next door to give them permission to enable their children go out at night.”
Fayemi said:”We condemn unreservedly what happened in Borno State. We have been in Borno State in solidarity with our colleague there and the people of Borno State.
“The responsibility that we have is not just to verbalise our abhorrence of what has been happening there. We also take other measures, like supporting the provision of relief materials and also working at various levels to insist on a security cum economic strategy that will ultimately put paid to this carnage going on in that part of the country.”
On how the newly registered APC hopes to overome the rivalry among the merging parties, Fayemi said: “We don’t want to go into any defensive position about that. But you recall that in our statement we stressed one point: accommodation and tolerance of all interested parties who have joined in consummating this merger.
“So, we are not going to go on a finger pointing spree. Those matters are still matters that we are consistently working on to provide accommodation. This is a process.
“It is not an event and it is natural that it will take us time in order to fully bring everybody together. But what is clear is that there is no single party in this merger that is repudiating what has been done.
“There may be local dynamics and local realities to the merger that we must respond and attend to on the ground and I can assure you that it is something that is going on in all our states.”
Shettima added that the APC places premium on internal democracy.
He said: “Another issue has to be internal democracy. In our party, we do not take every voice of dissent as treason. So, such disagreements are inevitable in a political process.
“It is very much welcome but the most important thing is that we are determined to redefine the meaning and concept or modern governance in this country and we are going to change the face of politics in Nigeria.”
Al-Makura said: “We have one goal, one mission and one vision and that is to salvage this country from the ruling party and also look at the avenue and vehicle for implementing these good policies, that is, through our own ideology, philosophy of social democracy which promotes social justice, transparency, accountability and the rule of law.”
