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MR Ayoola Lawal, former Secretary, APC Committee of Diaspora Chairmen, says that organised labour and Nigerians must join the Federal Government in forcing state governments to comply with council autonomy.
Lawal, the immediate past chairman of APC in the Scandinavian countries, said in a statement on Wednesday that organised labour should shut down states refusing to comply with the Supreme Court’s council autonomy judgment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Federal Government on Tuesday inaugurated an interministerial committee to enforce the Supreme Court’s judgment on local government autonomy.
Lawal said that any state that refused to comply with the judgment was anti-progress as the autonomy was a very huge step in advancing grassroots governance.
While commending the Federal Government for setting up the committee, he said that citizens must begin to realise the power they wielded by demanding that their governors do the needful.
“Citizens and labour should begin to shift more developmental blames to states and local government areas, rather than the Federal Government.
“Upholding constitutional principles and enhancing the operational effectiveness of local government areas at all cost has become necessary for development in Nigeria.
“Local governments, as the administrative bodies closest to the people, play a vital role in delivering essential services like education, healthcare and infrastructure.
“Their autonomy is crucial for ensuring they can address the unique needs of their communities without interference from state governments,” he said.
He noted that the Supreme Court’s July 2024 decision granting financial autonomy to local governments was aimed at decentralising power and fostering greater accountability at the grassroots level.
Lawal said: “In my opinion, the 10-member inter-ministerial committee’s composition is both strategic and comprehensive.
“Including the secretary to the Government of the Federation, ministers of Finance, Justice, Budget and Economic Planning, alongside the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria shows the Federal is committed to enforcing the autonomy. “
He, however, said that the committee must muster the political will to navigate potential resistance from the state governors who might see the autonomy as colossal threat to their control of resources.
“The committee should also be determined to overcome administrative challenges and establish robust monitoring and accountability frameworks to prevent corruption and inefficiency at the local level and ensure their effectiveness.
“No state governor is greater than the law or the people. They either comply or resign from office,” the APC chieftain added. (NAN)
21st August, 2024.
C.E.
Tags: Ayoola Lawal
