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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The member representing the South East on the Governing Board of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), Rep Sam Onuigbo, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for insisting on the fiscal autonomy of Local Government Councils in Nigeria.
He regretted that the low level of democratic benefits in the 774 councils in the past 26 years of the Fourth Republic stems from undue interference by state chief executives in the running of grassroots governance.
Recall that, while addressing the leadership caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presidential Villa recently, President Tinubu frowned at the continued fiddling with Local Government funds by state governors.
The President noted that he had been patient with the governors, lamenting that, despite the unambiguous judgment of the Supreme Court affirming the fiscal autonomy of Local Councils, most state governors continue to emasculate the funding of the Local Government system in the country.
But, speaking to journalists in Abuja on Sunday, Onuigbo, who is also an advocate for Local Government reforms, said he was very happy to hear the President’s passionate declarations in the presence of state governors and party members.
“What this means is that governors who have been tampering with Local Government funds should be prepared to show where the money went. Mr President is determined; and my understanding of the tone and tenor of his statement, some governors will go down for seizing Local Government money through various means.
“I think this is a wonderful opportunity for me personally and the Nigerian people to continue to commend Mr. President for remaining dogged, determined, resolute in trying to resolve this issue.
“Over the years, I have said over and over again that unless the Local Government system is freed from the clutches of governors to directly access the resources accruing to them constitutionally, we will not be able to achieve the much-needed development at the grassroots.
“This is because, in the first place, when you allocate resources from the Ministry of Finance based on the constitution and in line with Supreme Court judgment, and these resources do not get to the local government, it becomes a huge problem with many ramifications.”
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Onuigbo attributed the insecurity and unemployment at the grassroots to the unhealthy control of Local Governments’ funds, stressing that if council officials are allowed to superintend over their finances, they would productively engage the youths and stop them from going into anti-social vices, especially violent crimes.
“If we resolve the issue of governors’ unconstitutional control of resources accruing to the local government as the Supreme Court and President Tinubu have said, I assure you that that will help to stamp out insecurity, because council chairmen should and do know those who are capable of causing problems in their jurisdiction and easily rein them in with those resources.
“But, in the situation where, in most of the states, the Council chairmen do not see the money and they are constrained by the dubious process that threw them up, they become helpless.
“This is why I continue to thank the President for standing very strong on this matter over the years, because since he mounted the saddle and the Attorney General of the Federation went to court on the matter, this administration has been saying that the Local Government councils deserve the full worth of their money,” Onuigbo noted.
Commenting on the character of some Council Chairmen, who do not reside in their council area, Onuigbo, who is also a former two-term federal lawmaker, said that, because of not accessing the funds, they just sign off, keep their mouths shut and idle away.
He referenced a report by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) where some Local Government councils in Abia in particular were overgrown with weeds, particularly in Obingwa, such that the television crew could not drive into the council.
He stated: “If a Local Government could not construct access road to its headquarters despite receiving hundreds of millions of naira every month, how do you reconcile that? The question citizens are asking is, where did the money go to? So, that is the problem and I’m happy that Mr. President is on top of it, and he’ll be able to address it, moreso now that most of the governors belong to the ruling party.
“Right from my days in the 8th and 9th National Assembly representing Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South federal constituency, I have been harping on real autonomy of Local Governments as well as the dismantling of the State Independent Electoral Commissions through which state governors impose stooges as do-nothing Council chairmen.”
As a member of the technical committee on the review of the Electoral Act 2022, Onuigbo canvassed transparency in Council polls, even as he supported the abrogation of SIECs and amended Section 150(3) of the Act, which provided that any election to Local Government Council that is conducted by a state commission in violation of subsection (1) shall be invalid.
