Current Perspectives: Anatomy of Local Government Autonomy as a Government Closer to the People in Nigeria

Local government is a grassroots governance closer to the people and which they can easily identify with. Practically, there are disruptive disconnection from governments to the people, at the grassroots level of government, people only have interactions during elections, and since state operate joint account with local governments executives governors determine the set up of local governments officials and subject them to their whims and caprices, which is anti-people and antithetical to the development of grassroots governments, which builds closest connection with the people. People-oriented policies are key factors building good governance, without the people they won’t be government. The next question that will be of importance to ask is, how then excess of the local governments in Nigeria will be checked if they are granted full autonomy? Is it not another headway for misappropriation of funds? These questions will be addressed later in this work.

In Nigeria, local governments are in comatose people are not feeling the impacts of governance as government closer to the people. They are wide margins separating the needed governance to brand of governance operating across the country. The federal government recent move to grant full autonomy to the local governments in Nigeria, means total separation of local governments from state governments, existing and surviving on its own without any influence, in that literal sense of full autonomy. The political structure in Nigeria has everything do with this move, if it is open without definitions of powers and functions, state governors will influence the outcome of local governments councils, not necessarily the financial power but the whole aspect of governance and continuously lobbying in Nigerian politics which is endemic about who gets what, where and how.

Contemporary issues need to be addressed, this is not about the theoretical framework of leadership in the local governments level, or everything that has been said on paper. There is need to be practical with leadership to seriously effect change in the lives of the people. People are not feeling the impacts of governance at the rural areas in Nigeria, some local governments areas in Nigeria, still struggle to have access to clean water, good roads, community schools which are at the mercy of teachers who come to school whenever they want and to couple it all, there is no zeal or enthusiasm from the pupils, some of these community schools don’t have libraries. These are the realities facing the local governments in Nigeria, in line with the autonomy in determining the pedigree of local governments officials in administrative functions in the rural areas in Nigeria.

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The situation is prevalent in Nigeria where state governors dissolve or constitute caretaker community of local governments councils whenever they want, sometimes elections of local government will be suspended throughout the duration of their tenure. Local governments chairmen don’t even reside in the area they are governing except local governments that are not in the outskirts of the state. The current realities on ground about the plight of local government areas in Nigeria,  is bigger than seeking for full autonomy for local governments. If the full autonomy will not address the pressing issues facing by the people in various local governments across the country, then it is recycling and not changing the circle.

The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fegbemi has instituted an action on behalf of federal government at the Supreme Court, invoking the original jurisdiction of the apex court, against the 36 state governors seeking full autonomy of local governments. Praying the court to prohibiting state governors from unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected LG leaders. The AGF accused them of misappropriation and abuse of power, they were sued through their respective Attorney-Generals. Among others reliefs sought by the federation government against state governments, Attorney-General of the Federation prayed the apex court to allow local governments receive its allocation directly from the Federal account as opposed to joint accounts operated with the states, in adherence to the Constitution.

It is a wakeup call to first address the administrative influence the state governors have over local governments councils. The 1999 Constitution provides for democratically elected local government system, and further said in section 162 that the federal government is not obligated to pay any State, funds standing to the credit of local governments where no democratically elected local government is in place. The Attorney-General of the federation further prayed to apex court to invoke sections 1, 4, 5, 7 and 14 of the Constitution, declaring that state governors and State Houses of assembly are obligated under the law to ensure democratic system at local governments and governors cannot lawfully dissolve democratically elected local government councils.

In the light of the above, if the fulcrum of all these claims, assertions and prayers to the court, are not in any way effecting real change in governance at grassroots level, then the problems of local governments are far from being addressed, this is because it has to be people-centred to make any headway progress in promoting good governance from the first coming in contact with government and the people. Quality of livelihood needs to be upgraded at the grassroots level, the most commonest of social amenities are still missing in most local governments in Nigeria, in as much as there are no equal finance muscles ranging from local governments across the country in terms of development, there are barest of these amenities yet large number of local governments don’t have it, there is no way they can feel impacts of good governance if these things are not provided.

Addressing the questions raised in the beginning of this work, autonomy is not absolute, it comes with restrictions, when power is given without restrictions, then it is invitation of abuse of power, when the umbilical cord is severed between state governments and local governments, the latter will be held accountable under specific provisions of statutes which defines their powers and functions in line promoting good governance at the grassroots level. The democratically elected officials will be directly responsible to the people in their area, and provision of the law that will mandate these elected officials to live within the local government, so that they can practically and easily relate to the plight of the people in furtherance of discharging the duties that come with their office.