Ball already in the court of local government authority(s), by Kola Amzat
A couple of months ago, the Supreme Court in a landmark judgment ruled in favour of Local Government Council Fiscal Autonomy.
This was consequent upon the suit instituted at the Court to do so, by the Federal Authority.
The initiative of the federal government was necessitated by the decades of impunity, mindlessness and cheating visited upon the 3rd Tier authority by the state governments across the country.
Prior to the judgment, the state governors had made it as a norm to be shortchanging the LGCs, by always allocating to them meagre sum from the humongous amount collected on their behalf from FAAC accounts, through Joint Account which only the governors are signatories.
Thankfully, the Apex Court ruling has successfully drew curtains on that better-forgotten era of manipulation, callousness and selfishness by the state governors.
Even though, some of the leaders of at state level are averse and very bitter about the judgment, there is absolutely nothing they could do as chicken has come home to roost.
Nigerians need to celebrate and applaud the federal government masterstroke and initiative, which indeed caught the governors napping.
Before they could open their eyes, the carpet had been pulled out under their foot.
As a democrat of immense standing, one thing Nigerians are assured of is that Asiwaju Tinubu always prefer to fight his battles in the court of law and that call on Supreme Court for its intervention in this issue that had lingered for decades wasn’t an exception.
Moving forward, the LGCs accounts have been practically untied from the apron strings of state governments, as they’re now in vantage position to operate independently as ordinarily expected in the federal system setting.
Meanwhile, the implication of Supreme Court judgment is that it has placed heavy burden on the Local government Authority/s across the country in terms of rendition of their stewardship and accountability to the generality of Nigerians, most especially the deprived and traumatized citizenry at the grass root.
Henceforth, it has become imperative for the leaders of LGCs to be rendering accounts and provide justifications for deployment of huge funds & resources that would now be available to them from FAAC.
There is no doubt that the judgement came at a time when there is abject poverty, hunger, deprivation in all the nooks & crannies, with millions of Nigerians living in squalor.
The nation 220 million people suggest that technically, each of the 774 LGCs across the nation superintend on 285,000 Nigerians in aggregate.
Obviously, with the above calculation, each LGC shouldn’t have challenges in providing purposeful, responsive and responsible leadership in their respective domains, particularly in channeling the huge resources to drive the economic, infrastructural, technological, educational and medical developments.
We must re-emphasize to the Chairmen all over 774 LGCs that the new regime of ‘huge availability of fund’ is not meant to acquire properties in choicest areas of Nigeria and abroad, as well as living a life of stardom, rather, the funds are meant to be channeled to cause remarkable developments in all facets in their respective domains, as well as significantly improving the well-being and general welfare of vast Nigerian population at the grass root.
At this juncture, it’s indeed important to reiterate that it would be inimical and counter-productive to leave the LGC Chairmen and their team the sole prerogative of managing and administering huge resources now available to them on monthly basis, without instituting an administrative and structural system that would compel them to be accountable and rendering their stewardship, otherwise, the landmark judgement of the Apex Court would be meaningless.
This writer therefore suggests the followings to the federal authority:
- Presently, the general affairs of Local government authority is firmly in the hands of Chairmen and Council Managers. In several cases, the two key figures just hold the entire council to ransom.
It’s important that the administrative and financial structure must be changed with a view to introducing a new system that would check the two top officials in their bids to continually corner the LGC as their fiefdom.
- The need to replicate the state administration system structure in a MINI form at LGCs that would necessitates the appointment of the Special Officers to administer the LGC in collaboration with the chairman, as well as manning under listed portfolios:
- LGC Economy
- Infrastructural development
- LGC Chieftaincy and rural development
- Medical/Health care
- Educational development.
- The need for federal authority to establish Local Government Performance Monitoring Commission (LGPMC) with a view to continually monitoring LGC authority with regards to disbursement of funds to projects and also, making relevant reports to the federal government.
To realize this, the government is enjoined to make spirited efforts to cultivate National Assembly with a view to amending relevant provisions of the constitution that would enable this comes to manifestation.
Of course, with the new season of huge fund availability occasioned by direct transfer from FAAC, it’s apparent that there should be a new Electoral Body that would not only specifically handle local government elections, but, would also ensure that men of character, decent political and cognate antecedents, developmental and people-centric, and more importantly, patriotic Nigerians with fervent desire for service and responsive & responsible governance henceforth ascend power as leaders at 3rd Tier of government.
This is the only way that spirited efforts made by President Tinubu at ensuring Fiscal Autonomy for the LGC authority through that landmark judgment of Apex court would not only make meaning, but, drive developments in all the facets, as well as all tiers of government
Kola AMZAT (FCA, FCIB),
Lagos based Financial & Management Consultants,
09077509348
