From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The main opposition political party in Kebbi State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Head of Department (HoD) of Local Government Studies at Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi, Mallam Aliyu Adamu Aliyu, have lauded the Supreme Court’s judgment on local government council autonomy.
Alhaji Sani Dododo, a PDP chieftain and former Chairman of SEMA Kebbi State, spoke with newsmen in Birnin Kebbi, praising the judgment as a positive development for Nigerian democracy.
“We in the PDP welcome the judgment on local government chairmen autonomy in totality,” he said. “The PDP, as a party, had written to the Kebbi State Governor to immediately sack all the appointed caretaker chairmen because their appointments are illegal. We have done our constitutional role by advising him to dissolve them.”
He continued, “The Supreme Court judgment has given about 80-90.5% independence to local government areas. If we truly want local governments to be independent, we pray that the remaining part of the case – allowing INEC to conduct local government elections – will also be pronounced and implemented. Then, we will have local government councils that are totally independent, receiving their federal allocations directly and holding elections conducted by INEC. Only then will they have full autonomy.”
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Similarly, Mallam Aliyu Adamu Aliyu, speaking with the Daily Sun, noted that the people of Kebbi State welcomed the Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to local government councils across the country.
“Honestly, I have been interacting with the people and have had the opportunity to listen to most of them,” he said. “Many are jubilating, happy, and celebrating this historical judgment. They are saying that if fully implemented, it will ensure rapid development in rural communities and mitigate poverty.”
He continued, “This issue of LGA autonomy is something our people have been agitating for, for a long time. This is a great and highly welcomed development. We believe that this will allow LGA leadership at the local level to perform their functions effectively. LGAs are an important organ of government, the ones closest to the people. They provide basic necessities, and with this judgment, it means that LGAs will have enough funds to cater to the needs of the people at the local level.”
“With this judgment, the arbitrary dissolution of elected council chairmen will be a thing of the past,” Aliyu stated. “We shall now begin to see people electing credible leaders within their communities, leaders they feel can deliver dividends of democracy. Our people will now be electing those they know are knowledgeable about their communities, who will be accountable to them, and if they fail, the people will have the power to elect new people to replace them.”
Aliyu added that the judgment sends a strong signal to state governors who have not conducted council elections, stressing that expected federal government allocations to those councils might be withheld.
“The issue of caretaker committees or the appointment of sole administrators is not recognised by the Nigerian Constitution,” he explained. “State governors who have not conducted elections into the local government councils must do so immediately so that they will not lose the statutory federal allocations received monthly from the federal government account.”