Group Pushes For Full Local Govt Autonomy

A non-governmental organisation, Citizens Centre for Integrated Development and Social Rights (CCIDESOR) and CSO Situation Room have called for urgent constitutional reforms, particularly the amendment of section 162 of the 1999 Constitution to guarantee  full autonomy of local governments and establish a citizen-driven accountability framework.

CCIDESOR and Situation Room have expressed worry that despite significant monthly allocations from the Federal Account, the nation’s 774 LGAs have largely failed to deliver their constitutional mandate of providing primary education, primary health care, rural infrastructure and agricultural development.

The executive director of the body, Dr Emeka Ononamadu, made the call while briefing newsmen on what he tagged, “Local Government Autonomy and Improved Accountability: A Pathway to Rural Development, Economic Growth and Democratic Deepening in Nigeria.”

According to Ononamadu, CCIDESOR and Situation Room’s field monitoring of capital projects analysis across selected LGAs in the Southeast revealed that while allocated funds are not translating into visible development, capital projects are limited, poorly prioritized or misaligned.

Ononamadu regretted that despite consistent increase in federal allocations, rural communities in the country still remain underdeveloped, primary schools under funded and deteriorating, just as Health centers lack basic capacity and agricultural productivity remains low.

Continuing, the CCIDESOR Boss revealed that CCIDESOR’s Survey of selected LGAs confirmed that the number and quality of capital projects are grossly disproportionate to funds received, with projects often politically motivated rather than needs-based, just as transparency in budget implementation is extremely weak.

Ononamadu chronicled the odds inhibiting effective service delivery by the LGAs to include: lack of financial autonomy, weak accountability frame work, political suppression by state actors, misplaced development priorities, lamenting that poor investment in primary education has led to weak foundational learning, declining quality of secondary and tertiary education as well as reduced global competitiveness of the nation’s students.

Insisting that autonomy for LGAs would among other things enhance transparency and accountability, enable direct citizen engagement, improve service delivery, reduce corruption and waste and thus strengthen grassroots democracy.

Ononamadu implored the federal government to initiate immediate constitutional amendment to remove  state joint LGAs Account, establish direct allocation mechanism to LGAs, strengthen oversight through anti-corruption agencies and also develop national accountability framework to the LGAs.

He charged the National Assembly to fast-track amendment of section 162, enact laws guaranteeing LGAs financial independence and to mandate public disclosure of LGAs budgets and expenditures, strengthen legislative oversight functions.

Ononamadu urged state governments to desist from interfering with local governments’ funds and administration, respect democratic governance at the local level, provide technical support to them rather than control and ensure that enabling laws align with autonomy principles.