Recently, the federal and state governments agreed to commence the direct allocation of federal funds to the elected officials of the councils after three months. Perhaps the time frame will enable some state governments conduct democratic elections in the councils in keeping with the constitutional provision that only democratically elected officials will be allowed to superintend the affairs of local governments. After the three months, it is believed that only local governments with elected officials will receive their allocations directly from the Federation Allocation Accounts Committee (FAAC). Good enough, the government has set up a 10-member inter-ministerial committee to enforce the Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy.
The Supreme Court had in its July ruling granted financial autonomy to democratically elected officials in the nation’s 774 councils. We hope that the parties and the new committee will keep to this agreement. Three months is enough for the state governments to conduct local government polls. Any attempt to renege on this agreement will not augur well for good governance at the third tier of government. The Supreme Court had in its judgment specifically ruled that state governors would no longer control funds meant for the local governments.
The governors’ interference in the affairs of the councils is an aberration. It is strange to the constitution. That can explain why the apex court directed the Accountant-General of the Federation to pay councils’ allocations directly to their accounts. Accordingly, it declared the non-remittance of funds by the states as unconstitutional.
Most of the state governors have run the affairs of local governments through care-taker committees or their cronies who were merely announced as winners of local government elections organized by the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC). The governors have also bastardized the tenure of officials of the councils by dissolving them at will. Unfortunately, the governors have managed the local governments in breach of the constitutional provisions for democratically elected local government officials.
Therefore, in the envisaged new dispensation there must be transparency and accountability in managing the affairs of the local government. It cannot be business as usual. The development of Nigeria’s rural areas depends so much on the efficient running of the local government system. If the third tier of government has been efficient as envisaged by the framers of the 1999 Constitution Nigeria would have achieved so much in the development of the rural areas. The general insecurity and hunger in the land would not have arisen in the first place.
In July, the total disbursement by FAAC increased to N1.354trillion, with allocation to the 774 LGAs amounting N337billion. This money alone can ensure potable water supply and even pave some rural roads across the country. Even though the three months timeframe for direct allocation to elected local government officials is yet to elapse, we urge the governors to deploy council allocation to the development of the rural areas.
At the same time, it is worth mentioning that some of the elections so far conducted by some state governments through the SIEC left much to be desired. In almost all of them, the party in power won practically all the seats. This untoward attitude to council polls will vitiate the financial autonomy of the local governments. There is need for an electoral body that will not be under the control of the governors to conduct council polls. We believe that Independent National electoral Commission (INEC) has the capacity to do the job.
The council poll should no longer be a mere coronation of the candidates of the ruling party in the state. The present development is not good for democracy at the grassroots level. For such elections to be accorded credibility, they should reflect the wishes of the voters. The choice of the people should be respected. Since the local government is the closest administration to the people, it should be made to work. They attend to the needs of the rural people. Our nascent development model is largely urban-centric.
The time has come to prioritize the development of the rural areas as well. Apart from ensuring even development of the country, it will reduce the unbridled migration from the rural areas to the urban centres. It will also reduce criminality and rising insecurity in many rural communities. There is need to revive all rural hospitals and primary healthcare centres across the 774 local government areas.
Doing so will reduce the nation’s high disease burden and enhance the overall health and wellbeing of the masses. Nigerians look forward to the restoration of a working local government system with focus on rural development and welfare of the people. Those residing in rural areas should also be given the dividends of democracy. They need steady electricity supply, potable water and functional education and health systems.