Local Government Autonomy And Matters Arising

Uzo Chikere

The local government financial and political administration in Nigeria has obviously been problematic. But the latest development which has spelt out autonomy for the third tier of government sound like good music to almost every ear that has heard it. This will not erase the years of burden which the local government system has borne in the country despite series of reforms embarked upon by various past governments.

One leading reason for the establishment of the local government as the third tier of government if to bring governance and development closer to the citizenry at the rural level. However, the total essence of that premise was lost on the entire polity for as long as anybody can remember.

Events over the years exhibit a clear disconnect between the governed and local government at the grassroots level on the one hand, and between the local government and the state cum federal governments on the other. Majorly, this has been a function of the lack of autonomy for this important stratum of government as well as inability to properly situate the manner of such autonomy should it be extended at all to the system. Consequently, there is no grand theory of local government autonomy that states can adopt and make amenable to their politics.

This according to experts in local government administration is the reason suffocation and subversion of the autonomy of the system has all along had more expression in financial and leadership recruitment.  This explains why members of the political elite engage each other in a-tug-of-war over whose apron-string the local government should be tied to, rather than allow local governments operate autonomously.

This much is the position of the Yaba Local Council Development Area chairman, Hon. Jide Jimo who is opposed to what he described as amounting to Federal Government interference in the affairs of local government administration to the detriment of fiscal federalism that a lot of Nigerians have been clamouring for. He contends that with the autonomy as structured, the Federal government will be dictating to the local government, adding that it should be left in the hands of the states. He is convinced that it will only create a fertile ground for the Federal Government to take over the local governments from the states, which he says he cannot subscribe to.

But in his reaction, Lagos lawyer, and human rights activist, Justice Uhuagbu, posits that autonomy does not mean that local governments should be going to queue for money in Abuja, Explaining that it will still go through the same process of allocating the dues to the third tier of government from the Federation Account. Uhuegbu argues that by this exercise, local governments in the country will be more productive and accountable to the people because it will no longer be possible for the state governors to hijack the monies meant for the local government councils only to give them peanuts thereby rendering ineffective as it is presently. He believes that if the autonomy fails through, it will have constitutional backing that will make difficult for the Federal government to lord it over any local government. The issue of the federal government coming to monitor the local government, does not occur, says Justice.

Hon. Oyebolu, one-time Chairman of Surulere Local Government Concil, also agrees that autonomy to the local government will not attract any form of monitoring of the level of administration by the federal government. Oyebolu rather described it as a welcome development, pointing out that it will engender a situation where the local government allocation will flow directly to the third tier of government and also prevent the state government from tampering with local government funds.

With this development, he posits, the local government will become more alive to their statutory responsibilities as the closest level of administration to the people.

On his part, Hon. Benjamin Omole, former Chairman of Esan West Local Government of Edo State, it is a right step in the right direction. It will stop the states government act of pilfering the funds of the local governments which had hitherto hindered the local governments’ development projects for the rural people. Omole deposes that autonomy for local governments will enhance the closeness of the grassroots people to the government with a better prospect for rural development.

Whichever way, a full ratification of the amendment will be at the instance of the State Houses of Assemblies’ consensus decision. Two-third of the states’ houses of assembly will vote in favour of the motion for it to become law. But will that happen?

Hon. Jide Jimo holds that it will not fly, maintaining that they will vote against it as no state according to him will be prepared to lose their authority over their local governments to the federal government.

Observers of the polity are agreed that autonomy for local government will certainly bring good tidings to both financial and political administration of that tier of government in so far as the officials are alive to their responsibilities. If for instance that level of government should take control of collecting tenement rate in their domains rather than leaving it to the state governments, it will boost their revenue, they say postulating that it will further enable them to discharge their responsibilities to the grassroots people.

With good leadership at the local government level in place, according to Bar. Uhuagbu, they will be functional and effective in the areas of maintaining roads in the hinterland, clearing of drainages and attend to many other matters which they had been unable to as a result of the states hijacking their funds.

All in all, the reality of the recommendation will depend on how the states’ houses of assembly will vote, and only time will tell.