Radda Lists Challenges To LG Autonomy

Katsina State Governor Dikko Umaru Radda has identified potential challenges of financial management and personnel matters among others despite the popular optimism to implement the recent judgement of Supreme Court which granted financial autonomy to local government councils in the country.

Radda stated this at a meeting he convened to discuss the implications of the recent Supreme Court judgment on local government autonomy.

A statement released yesterday in Abuja by his chief press secretary, Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, said the governor had asked for the legal implications of the Supreme Court decision.

The governor said, “I did not call you all today to interpret the judgment. Katsina State is a law-abiding state and will operate under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I have asked the state’s attorney general to give me a

full report on the legal implications of the Supreme Court decision.

The Katsina governor appealed for cooperation and collaboration among all stakeholders to navigate the new realities brought about by the Supreme Court decision.

On the need for a comprehensive strategy to address the challenges posed by the new ruling, he said: “We must use the coming weeks to review all our existing laws and begin to work on new laws that will harmonise our developmental objectives.

“I have set up a committee comprising of state, local government, and state assembly representatives along with other experts to formulate a way forward. We are facing various socio-economic challenges coupled with insecurity in our frontline local governments. When I took office in 2023, over 20 local governments were ravaged by insecurity. Our concerted efforts have reduced insecurity to the fringes of the frontline local governments.”