Nigeria – LG Autonomy: FG ‘Cannot Take The Baby From The Mother’ – Fayose

By Onoja Baba, Abuja, Nigeria

In view of Thursday’s Supreme Court judgement affirming local governments’ right to receive monthly allocations directly from the federation account, former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has asserted that the Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria and the Supreme Court cannot separate the Local Governments from the State government.

Fayose made these remarks as a guest on Sunday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today, emphasizing that local government autonomy is hindered by the influence of state governors and State Houses of Assembly.

“The court and FG ‘cannot take the baby from the mother,’” Fayose stated. He argued that grassroots candidates cannot emerge as local government chairmen without the endorsement of a governor.

“I am not a lawyer. I am a politician and by God’s grace today, I am an elder statesman. While I love and do not believe that any government should take local government funds, may I say to you very clearly this evening that you cannot take the baby from the mother? There is nobody that can become council chairman without a governor. Anybody telling you otherwise is wasting his time.”

Fayose highlighted the crucial role of state assemblies in regulating local government activities. “The House of Assembly of every state controls the activities and checkmates the activities of the local government,” he said.

Reflecting on his tenure as governor, Fayose recalled managing funds received from Abuja. “When you receive money from the account, some people manage the account. They are not politicians or the council chairman. There is only one representative of the governor, which is the local government commissioner.

“All others are local government officials, workers, and pensioners of the council. And they appropriate the funds. But when you now come and say we are giving power to the local government, what power are you giving to them? No power.”

Fayose also pointed out the inefficiencies within local government operations, noting a lack of seriousness among many council officials. “Any council chairman who says ‘Money is coming to me, I will disrespect my governor’ the House of Assembly will tell you to go and disobey him inside your house. This is because you can never even be a council chairman without the governor standing up for you.

“The House of Assembly regulates your activities. Go to the council meeting on Wednesday or Friday, you will not find 10 percent of the staff of the local government in the office. They don’t come. My name is Ayo Fayose and I want them to dispute this. They don’t come to work. When you make moves to bring them to book, both NULGE and all leaders of the local government will go and beg the governor. They will be telling you; we will not vote for you. This is the way we operate at the local government.

“The state is more effective in administrative performance than the local government. At the local government, everybody comes to collect money. Even people have left some states. They live somewhere else, and money just hits their accounts,” he added.

Fayose’s comments reflect ongoing debates about the effectiveness and independence of local governments in Nigeria, highlighting the complexities of implementing true autonomy at the grassroots level despite judicial affirmations. ‎<This message was edited>

Photo Credit: Punch