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Home POLITICS Analysis Constitution amendment: A bold step on council autonomy

Constitution amendment: A bold step on council autonomy

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By Daniel Kanu,

Assistant Politics Editor

 

The Senate’s bold step to vote and adopt the support for Local Government Autonomy has continued to receive commendation.

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The lawmakers on Wednesday voted on the areas up for amendment in the 1999 Constitution, in favour of the independence of local government.

The proposal was among the 33rd items of the report on the bill to amend the 1999 Constitution presented by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.

The alteration is part of constitutional reforms by the legislature to make local governments become independent of states.

One could say that local council in the country has become a mere tool in the hands of the state governors as they “install” who they choose to run the council for them.

At the moment, many Nigerian states have caretaker committees in charge at local councils, but the bill also proposes that no local council should receive allocation except it is democratically constituted.

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Part of the Senate move to strengthen local government independence was to strip the states of power to constitute electoral commissions to conduct local government elections.

All Progressives Congress (APC) representative from Kogi at the Red Chambers, Senator Dino Melaye, said that allowing states to oversee conducts of local government elections make a mess of the call for autonomy.

Instead, Melaye had moved that the Independent National Electoral Commission should conduct the local elections.

“How do we speak of local government autonomy, without addressing the foundation,” Melaye said, while seeking states to be stripped of the power to constitute state electoral commissions to conduct local government elections.

As it stands now the Senators have approved an amendment that will see state legislators superintend over their own budget, rather than the existing practice that gives governors powers to appropriate expenses of lawmakers.

Federal lawmakers at the National Assembly already enjoy financial autonomy.

Also special accounts for local government was adopted and the proposal says local government administrators should be allowed to manage their own accounts as against the existing policy in which governors exert powers over allocations to local government areas.

This section, if amended, will allow separate accounts for local governments from states for receiving monthly federal allocation.

It must be noted that the Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s report had only included proposal for democratically elected local councils, which can directly receive allocations from the federation accounts.

In effect, the alteration bill seeks to abrogate the state-LG joint account system.

Oba Oladele Kosoko, the Oniworo of Awori kingdom, Badagry, said that it was a welcome development but expressed the fear that the state governors who control their state assemblies may work against the realisation of L.G autonomy.

He said that the local councils over the years had become the honey pot of the state governors and they are likely going to work against the bill not to see the light of the day when it comes to the state assembly.

Said Kosoko, “The adoption of the Senate to ensure local governments have the needed autonomy is a welcome development but can the governors allow it to fly when it gets to their state houses? Local government has become their honey pot and they may not let it go. Remember it needs not less than 24 Houses of Assembly to pass it to law”.

Most commentators who spoke with The Niche aligned with the views of Oba Kosoko, but said that with greater advocacy on the issue the people will rise up to the challenge and defend the realisation of local autonomy in the constitution.

 

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