LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTONOMY, THE PROS AND CONS IN NIGERIA POLITICAL ARENA

HISTORICAL REVIEW

Local government administration in Nigeria started during the colonial period when it was vested in the hands of traditional rulers, and it operated in a very undemocratic manner. Over the years, efforts have been made to democratize local government and make it more responsive to developmental needs. One of the legal instruments establishing the function of the local government is the 1976 local government reform which defines local government as:

“Government at local level exercised through representative council, established by law to exercise specific powers within defined areas. These powers should give the council substantial control over local affairs as well as the staff, institutional and financial powers to initiate and direct the provision of services. To determine and implement projects so as to complement the activities of the State and federal governments in their areas, and to ensure, through these councils and active participation of the people and their traditional institutions, that local initiative and response to local needs and conditions are maximized”.

Part 1 of the First Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) recognizes the existence of 774 LGAs in the Nigeria, including six for the Federal Capital Territory. Also, the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution currently specifies the functions of these LGs. Specifically, Section 2 (a) to (c) of the Fourth Schedule confers on the operators such responsibilities as the provision and maintenance of health services, development of agriculture and natural resources and the provision and maintenance of primary, adult and vocational education. The same constitution specifies a term limit for the elected officials of this tier of government.

“The practicality for the creation of local government anywhere in the world stems from the need to fast-track the progress of development at the grassroots and gets governance close to the people”.

However, this universal aim is being subdued in Nigeria by the conspiratorial attitude of both the federal and states government but most especially the powerfully lobby of state governors in Nigeria. The state governors and their allies at the federal level over a period of many years highlight the problems of local government in Nigeria under a federating system as inadequate planning by local government chairmen, poor implementation of policies, inadequate revenue, corruption and mismanagement of public fund, lack of adequate manpower, lack of participation by the people and several inter-governmental conflicts.

“All the governors in Nigeria, under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), vehemently opposed a proposal for the autonomy of the local governments in Nigeria, describing it as an aberration”. They argue that under a federal system, there is no room for a third tier of government asserting that only two federating units; federal and states, are to be recognised. They also described as absurd, the listing of the local government areas in the Nigeria constitution, arguing that the action is out of place in a true federal system. The chairman, (or former chairman, depending on which side of the political divide you are), of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and governor of Rivers State, Chibuke Rotimi Amaechi, at several fora, has, on behalf of his fellow governors, vowed to resist any attempt at severing the local governments from the apron strings of the state governments.

CONCEPT OF FEDERALISM:

Federalism is a concept of government that has to do with decentralization of powers. Each federalism has its own unique features from United States, Germany, India, etc. Although there are no two federalism that look exactly alike, but there are some basic concepts, principles which qualifies a country to be described as a federal state. And there are certain factors that inform the people of a country to decide whether to be a federation or not. Some of the factors that determine that choice are the issues of differences in religion, culture, languages, tribes and ethnic groupings.

Some federation may even be formerly independent states that decide to come together for economic, social or security considerations and in order to secure their individual identities and existence. Thus they may adopt a federal social structure so that they may develop at their own pace. The above mentioned are some of the reasons that determine the character of federal states. There is no particular two state’s federal structure that is the same. So it is neither valid nor sound for anyone to argue that there is no federal state simply because there are the local governments as a federating tier. India is one perfect example of a federation with a third tier federating partner.

In Nigeria’s federal system of government, our constitution actually envisages that monies from the federation shall be collected into a common central account and shared among local governments through state governments under the supervision of the Ministry of Local Government (or as they may call it). This joint account is what is called State & Local Government Joint Account, commonly abbreviated as JAC in many states. It is called JAC because each state is supposed to make additional contribution into that account from its internally generated revenue (IGR), discouraging multiple taxation on the people. Thus, for example, if the federal government allocated twenty naira to each local local government in a state and sent it through the JAC, instead of each local government to get twenty naira, each should get say thirty naira, with ten naira added by the state government from it’s IGR.

Unfortunately, what has been happening across all states in Nigeria is that instead of giving the local government the due thirty naira, the local government are even shortchanged of their statutory twenty naira and eventually receive ten or five naira. What a Fraud! Sadly, most of the LGA councils cannot protest because they do not enjoy autonomy and their tenure, even election, is at the mercies of the whim and caprice of whoever is governor. This is the biggest corruption in Nigeria, at the root of our greatest national economic stagnation. In a situation like the above, the heads of the council is left with no option but to embezzle the left over five or ten naira and the ordinary people at the grassroots suffer.

SOCIO ECONOMIC IMPLICATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTONOMY REJECTION

The States/LGAs Joint Account (JAC) was a mechanism originally designed to check the menace of looting and robbery of public funds and to ensure accountability and probity. Unfortunately, the mechanism was corrupted by clever-by-half state governors and has since lost out to the inventiveness of those governors who took and do take advantage of a poor and obsolete system of public financial accounting procedure in Nigeria, in a manner that defies logic, common sense and patriotism.

“Governors have, over the years, perfected the art or wizardry of muscling the local governments, especially those councils whose chairmen wish to resist this official thievery and council-abuse, using their supervisory role to take over the powers of the local government councils in their respective state. In these cases, the governors replace the chairmen with unelected, undemocratic and unaccountable stooges with various appellations such as Administrator, Caretaker Committee or Head of Service”.

The resultant relationship between states and local governments, in this situation, has become that of a fraudulent and illicit affair by which the general publics are short changed. Funds meant for developmental projects in local government area councils have been fraudulently diverted into some sort of sludge funds with which the state governors finances their extra-governmental activities at the expense of the public good and the millennium development goals. These extra-governmental activities include ‘settling’ political adversaries, political thugs, party hangers-on, and in addition, to servicing unscrupulous public servants. ‘Settling’ here is a euphemism for bribery and corruption.

Many Nigerians crave for change and adjustment in the structural deficit in the local government system as presently constituted in order to not only bring it in conformity with present day realities, but also to make it live up to the expectations of the people who have been yearning for grassroots development. Local government area councils have been reduced to mere political and financial conduits, by which governors dispense favours to accomplices, aides & concubines and also to punish errant and disloyal supporter & opponents. The councils have turned into merchant banks, of a sort, for ruling political parties in states. Their funds are siphoned under the supervision of the ruling party in the state and used to canvass for votes in lieu of tangible developmental projects.

 This, in essence, gives birth to poor management and accountability of the whole administrative structure of the local government system. Unlawful & immoral deductions are made on LGA councils account and other such inimical things all to satisfy the ambition and demands of governors and their ruling party in complete violation of laid down administrative procedure. It is noteworthy that this practice is evident across all the political parties in Nigeria.

THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM

The 1999 constitution, sadly, compounded the problem by giving governors enormous window to slow down the local government system by curiously refusing to give the councils the freedom to exist as an autonomous tier of government and real functions – beyond cemeteries and markets – are allocated to them. This rather lazy attitude of the current constitution has reduced local government administration to mere complex cosmetic show of democratic activity without the corresponding gains. It is our recommendation to the National Assembly, in addition to their commendable work at popularly amending the constitution, to insert a revolutionary clause to permit local governments as competent parties in the Concurrent Legislative List. This is a better way to declare and secure their autonomy forever.

A situation where a governor is in complete control of the machinery of the local government, even if by surrogates, portends doom for the whole local government system. At the heart of these problems is the issue of free and fair elections into the councils, and in fact into any elective position in the local government. Autonomy would go a long way in enhancing more public interest in governance and encourage public participation in local politics, which is a precursor to the elimination of electoral malpractice, unaccountability in office and underdevelopment in Nigeria..

As at the present time, what exist in most local governments across Nigeria are sham ceremonies of ‘anointing’ for preferred candidates during so called elections. The popular will of the local people is is almost always crushed by the greed & unlawful imposition perpetrated by the reigning governor. It is no longer news that one cannot aspire to be a local government chairman without the prior blessing of the state governor. The meddling in electoral processes & tempering with the independence of the so called States Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) in local government elections by these governors is enough pointer to the fact that they do not have the moral capacity and democratic courage to conduct free and fair elections in their local government areas. 

That has resulted in a situation where popular candidates lose elections to anointed (governor-preferred) candidates who, in many cases, have grossly inadequate socio-political credentials as well as low public approval rating. This situation aptly describes the rot in the processes that defines our local government elections. There is also an urgent need empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct all elections in Nigeria, including local government elections.

The actions of the state governors in resisting the granting of autonomy for LGAs and in supervising the conduct of unfair & non-credible LGA elections through SIECs , have resulted in an overwhelming outcry by ordinary Nigerians for an overhaul of the constitution of Nigeria to address the imbalance and excesses of state governors. The review seeks to curtail their over-bearing influence & interference in the administration local government area councils, and to achieve the much needed autonomy for local governments.

“It is in regard to this that I will advocate for complete autonomy for local government area councils in Nigeria to enable them reach out to the grassroots without inhibition, let or hindrances and also to make them accountable to their own people – not the godfather-governors”.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday 24th July, 2013 passed 85 new revolutionary clauses to the 1999 Constitution (as amended), among which are; the endorsement of autonomy for local governments, the rejection of immunity for the president and state governors facing criminal charges, and the scrapping of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), among others, despite spirited & vehement resistance from all the state governors within the ranks of the Nigeria Governors Forum.

In my opinion, I think this is a big step in the right direction to achieving complete local government autonomy. It is evident, from the proposed amendments, that the revolution in Nigeria that Speaker Tambuwal predicted has actually started right inside the Chambers of the National Assembly by legislating against those factors that encouraged and institutionalized corruption, impunity & unaccountability in Nigeria.

 (Article written by Mr. Okwe Kenneth Aigbe is a senior research fellow at THE POLICY FORUM, Abuja. He writes from Leeds, United Kingdom).

Thank you for your time and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

THE PROS FROM POLITICAL ARENA 

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Chief Reuben Famuyibo, has said that local government autonomy was a viable instrument for rural development.

“Famuyibo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, recently that granting autonomy to the councils was the only way for democracy to thrive and develop the rural areas”.

“It is unfortunate that since the 1976 local government reforms, undertaken to strengthen the system in Nigeria, several challenges have cropped up to impede their performance.

“We are not practicing true democracy as it affects the third tier of government in this country; majority of Nigerians are in the rural areas which make up the local government areas.

“For us to sustain democracy in Nigeria the rural populace must reap the dividends of democracy and the only way to get it circulated is through rural development.

“This can only be achieved through autonomy of the local government system; as of today, most local governments have not delivered on democratic mandate.

“Most of our council chairmen are not elected, but appointed by the governors and this in turn makes them subservient to the governors,” he said.

Famuyibo added that due to their appointments, the overwhelming influence of the governors had stifled administration at the council areas, as the chairmen had turned to appendages.

He said the major local government statutory duties had not been carried out as expected, adding that it included the provision of basic amenities in the rural areas.

“The local governments should have their full autonomy, to be able to develop the local governments and eradicate poverty, while the joint state-local government councils account system should be abrogated.

“It is unfortunate that local governments suffered from the hands of the governors, preventing them from providing much needed development to communities,’’ he said.

He advised Nigerians to stop taking advantage of the deficiency in the constitution to deprive the councils of autonomy as such would adversely affect development at the council level.

According to him, “findings revealed that local governments have not been doing well due to lack of financial autonomy, undue interference of state governments and corruption among local government officials.’’

Famuyibo said for the development of the rural areas, local governments must be able to meet their obligations.

He said it was unfortunate that some institutions could go against granting autonomy to local governments, adding that it negated the principle of development.

THE CONS FROM POLITICAL ARENA

APC governors

The governors said this in a communiqué after their meeting.

The governors of the All Progressive Congress, APC, at the end of their meeting on Wednesday rejected autonomy for Nigerian local governments.

The governors, in a communiqué released after their meeting in Lafia, said the National Assembly was right by not including local government autonomy in the ongoing constitutional amendment.

The eight point communiqué released after their five hour meeting in Lafia was read by Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State.

The governors said autonomy for the local governments would undermine the fundamental principle of federalism and push the country towards a unitary system.

The meeting of the governors, called Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), was attended by nine governors and one deputy governor.

The attendees are the host, Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, Babatunde Fashola of Lagos, and Abdullazez Yari of Zamfara. Others are Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun, Adams Oshiomhole of Edo, Rauf Aregbesola of Osun, Kashim Shettima of Borno, and Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo. The deputy governor of Imo, Eze Madumere, also attended while Yobe governor was not represented but sent in apology.

“Recognizing 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 aspect of local government administration will tilt the country towards a unitary state. This will undermine and weaken the fundamental principle of our federalism,” the governors said.

The governors also recommended that the power to amend the revenue allocation formula be removed from the presidency and given to the National Assembly.

“In spite of recommendations made to the presidency, no effect has been given to the extant proposal 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 powers to alter the revenue allocation formula currently with the presidency should be vested in the National assembly,” they said.

The communiqué also commended the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC) for registering the APC in the overall interest of the nation. It expressed confidence in the interim leadership of the party in its ongoing efforts to develop a healthy relationship among members.

   

Nigerians move against Senate’s opposition to LG autonomy

By Temitayo Famutimi

Some Nigerians displeased with the Senate for refusing to grant autonomy to the 774 local government councils in the country, as proposed to the Committee for the Review of the 1999 Constitution, have resorted to staging a protest online.

Although the House of Representatives made several changes to Section 7 of the Constitution by recognising the local government system as a full tier of government, like the federal and state governments, the Senate had on July 16 voted against the proposal to make local governments independent of their states.

The Senate’s decision has, however, prompted some Nigerians from the various geo-political zones of the country to express their disappointment on the social media.

To this end, an online petition titled, ‘Nigerian Legislators: Make Local Governance Work for the Poor, Grant Autonomy to Local Governments’, has been hosted on change.org, a website for online protests, by a group known as Reclaim Naija.

Those who signed the petition on the website lamented that the Senate’s vote against local government autonomy came as a shock to them.

The protesters said the Senate position did not reflect the wishes and demands of the majority of Nigerians who came out to speak their minds during the public hearing that took place nationwide in 2012.

According to them, the LGs have been the least performing and least functional tier of government in the country, largely because it lacks the autonomy currently being enjoyed by the federal and state governments.

They argued that the only way to ensure development in the rural areas is by granting autonomy to local government councils. They said that in the absence of  LG autonomy,  the poor living in many rural communities may never feel the impact of governance.

One protester, Osazuwa Timmy-Obaseki, who lives in Lagos, remarked that sustainable development for people at the grassroots would not be guaranteed, if those at the helms of the affairs at the LG level turned puppets of state governments.

“If we want those at the grassroots to enjoy dividends of democracy, then those who govern at that level must be more than mere puppets in the hands of puppet-masters.

“There can be no sustainable change or development without genuine leadership and no genuine leadership can manifest at the LG level without autonomy. Granting LGs autonomy is a non-negotiable issue of very high importance,” Timmy-Obaseki wrote after signing the petition.

Mike Otsepa from Makurdi noted that the Senate’s current  position on LG autonomy would ensure that local governments remained appendages of  the state governments.

Otsepa said, “Making the local government an appendage of the state is not justifiable. Why is the state not an appendage of the Federal Government? We want development at the grassroots because many leeches at the state and federal levels appear determined to ensure that development does not get to the grassroots. Besides, are the state governors better Nigerians than the chairmen of local government councils?’’

Another protester, Patrick Amah, raised the alarm over the quality of life of rural dwellers in the country, adding that Nigerians would continue to be worried if the members of the National Assembly refuse to grant the third tier of government its independence.

Amah said that when a government moved very close to the people, it would be more effective and easier to hold it accountable by the people.

He said, “Over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population lives in the rural communities. They need quality amenities to make their lives meaningful and the local government councils are esmpowered by the Nigerian 

Constitution to provide these amenities to the people. Autonomy to the LGAs will meet the yearnings of the suffering masses who continue to remain underserved by state governments all over the country.’’

Also, Ibrahim Sogij, from Katsina State, said, “The best approach is the bottom to top democracy, not top to bottom. That is when you want to empower the people at the grassroots to take charge of their collective destiny.

“But if you want to dominate, control, monopolise, enslave, re-colonise, and force the common man into an almajiri — a permanent beggar — who is dependent on the state to decide his fate, then you are promoting  a misguided democracy.”

Article compile by Campaign for New Nigeria Advocacy Group