‎Ondo Begins Review Of Law To Implement LG Autonomy

The Ondo State Government has begun moves to review its local government law to align with the Supreme Court judgment on financial autonomy for local governments.

‎The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Amidu Takuro, disclosed this on Monday, saying the proposed review would provide the legal framework for the full implementation of local government autonomy in the state.

‎Takuro said the state government was committed to complying with the judgment, stressing that its local government administration must operate within the provisions of the law.

‎“As of today, we are preparing our law that will reflect and align with the Supreme Court judgment for total implementation. The law of the land is supreme,” he said.

‎The commissioner explained that the key issue in the implementation of the judgment was ensuring that funds meant for local governments were spent by the councils, adding that Ondo had already been implementing some aspects of the arrangement.

‎He, however, said the state maintained some collective arrangements among the 18 councils to ensure that local governments with weaker financial capacity were not left without adequate resources.

‎“If we are going for total autonomy of local government, some of the local governments will be underfunded while some will have surplus. Our internal arrangements give room for where every local government has access to fund,” Takuro said.

‎According to him, the arrangement had enabled the councils to address issues that might be difficult for individual local governments to handle alone, including the payment of severance gratuities owed to retired council workers.

‎Takuro said the councils were also being encouraged to improve their internally generated revenue, noting that some had increased their collections after receiving training on revenue mobilisation.

‎He, however, said the new tax law had affected the ability of local governments to generate more revenue in some areas, particularly because of restrictions arising from multiple taxation.

‎The commissioner disclosed that the state government, local governments and the Federal Inland Revenue Service were working together to resolve areas of overlap and conflict under the new tax regime.