You’re not alone in not being acquainted with those who represent you at the local government level. I too don’t know the councillor of my Ogwofia-Owa Ward in Ezeagu LGA of Enugu State. The only time I ever saw or met my local government chairman was a few months ago when he came to stoke the perennial fire of leadership crisis plaguing my town union. I don’t know them because they got into office through the immediate past state government’s penchant for hand-picking minions to function as in the nonsensical caretaker committees. And the incumbent administration has not given any hope of local government election soon.
–Chris Udenta, Obosi
The problems you listed from your local government are the same in the 774 LGAs in the country. Nothing is going on except politics as presented by the governors playing god as our politics is winner takes all. Our dear PMB has said it the way he understands Nigerian politics, make speeches.
How many local government reform programmes have we witnessed and what happened? There is something wrong fundamentally with our system. Perhaps because sharing our commonwealth for lucky ones in government is the stake. Have you witnessed LG appointment celebrations? Who’ll change it?
–Tony Enyinta, Isuikwuato
Abdulfatah, let me first thank you for taking the trouble to publish the constitutional responsibilities of the local government. That said, I was really thrilled by your ambition to know the chairman of your Local government; when people vote for the party and its nominees at all levels of governance. In all my over half a century in five local governments of Lagos State I have resided in, I cannot name the chairman or councilor of any area. Your suggestion that constitutional responsibilities of local governments should not be meddled into by the state governments, because of their closeness to the grassroot, cannot work under the present polity. Recall APC’s primary on Ondo guber poll where Bola Tinubu had a preferred candidate, Abraham, and the party’s National Chairman, Oyegun, said Tinubu was merely exercising his right by it. And that was for governorship of a whole state. So, what could one imagine would be
applied in ‘ordinary’ local government poll? PMB was rumoured as proposing to send a bill soon to NASS requesting for local government autonomy. Same Buhari is rumoured as proposing another bill requesting NASS to cede its power to him, under state of emergency, to handle present recession problem, which requires engagement of just few competent Nigerians in Economics to salvage. What this shows to the world is that Nigeria’s leadership lacks what it takes to give the best in governance.
How many of the local government chairmen, across board, are truly educated enough to know what governance is all about? If Nigeria will progress, the inhibiting factors of tribal and religious affiliations being used as channels to leadership saddles should be obliterated from the system. The intellectual requirements of people aspiring to at least headship of the three tiers of government should be defined. Otherwise, we will just be going round in circles with governance. May God save Nigeria.
–Lai Ashadele.
It is good move for PMB to remember to reform local government areas for effective performance because the governors had made the local governments handicapped by diverting their funds for other purposes other than development of the local government areas. Enough is enough of governors who refuse to release allocations to LG chairmen and councilors to work in rural areas. Let the local governments be independent so that they will develop their areas. We should Back PMB to reform local governments.
-Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia
My own contribution is that the federal and the state governments do not monitor the allocations given to the local governments at all. That is the reason that at Bariga LCDA in Lagos, the past chairman did nothing for nine years, but still got the award of Chairman of Year five times.
–T. Akingbala
The proposed autonomy or reform of local government is commendable. It’s long overdue to restructure local governments for effective performance rather than governors diverting the allocation meant for local government areas’ development for their private use.
We should support PMB’s idea of reforming the local government areas because it is the government closest to the rural people. Local governments have a lot of work to do in rural areas but the funds are not forthcoming because governors are diverting the money. It is a welcome idea to see a new local government in short time. South-east needs more LGAs.
–Mrs. N. Ijeoma Lagos.
Abdulfatah honestly looking across the nation, one feels that the local government as a tier of government has been abolished due to the obvious absence of any evidence of them still existing in terms of providing those services assigned to them by the constitution as rightly enumerated in your piece. While in all honesty one shouldn’t absolve the local government chairmen and ALGON of being part of the reasons why that very critical tier of government has found itself in this pitiable state, the selfish attitude of the average Nigerian politician is solely responsible. The worst culprits in this situation are the governors.
They look at the local governments in their states as having been conquered consequent upon their victory at the gubernatorial elections. They now corner all the funds due to the local governments in their states and give the chairmen who they hand-picked peanuts that is hardly enough to pay salaries let alone clear the refuse in one street in the headquarters.
It still boils down to the restructuring of our federation that genuine patriots have been clamouring for. Because if all three tiers of government are empowered to harness all the resources available to them and are not hindered for any reason from putting their share of the funds derivable from them into the development of their jurisdictions, citizens will know who to hold responsible when performance is lacking. Thanks.
–Emma Okoukwu