Financial autonomy: ALGON to monitor LG funds, wants SIECs scrapped

From Okwe Obi, Abuja

Association of Local Government Organisation of Nigeria (ALGON) Board of Trustees, yesterday, promised to monitor funds accrued to local governments, sequel to the supreme court verdict that granted financial autonomy the 774 councils.

The board ratified the appointment of the Managing Director of S&B Management and Accounting Solutions Limited, Samuel Babatunde, as a consultant to represent the 774 local governments in the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and manage their financial dealings.

ALGON BoT Chairman, Shaban Ohinoyi Shuaibu, in a statement yesterday, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to scrap the State State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) for electoral transparency.

He also called for additional constitutional reforms to further streamline governance and enhance the functionality of local governments.

He specifically demanded the removal of sections 7 and 8 from the Constitution to enhance governance and facilitate effective service delivery at the grassroots level.

To this end, he encouraged Nigerians to participate actively in local government affairs and emphasized the importance of grassroots engagement in shaping the country’s development trajectory.

Shuaibu expressed the commitment of ALGON to support the federal government in ensuring accountability and transparency in local governments.