Following the judgement of theSupreme Court on local government Autonomy, Taraba state governor, Agbu Kefas and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, have both inaugurated committees to advise on the best way to implement the decision of the apex court.
While Gov. Kefas stated that even before the Supreme Court verdict, he had already granted full autonomy to the local government chairmen through the bureau for local government, traditional and chieftaincy affairs for the management of the joint account and other administrative affairs of their respective domains, Gov. Makinde noted that his government will not allow the people of the state to suffer from the fallout of the verdict.
According to Kefas at an event to inaugurate the state’s local government areas autonomy advisory committee, he said: “It is with great pride and a sense of responsibility that we are here today to inaugurate the Local Government Areas Autonomy Advisory Committee.
“This event marks a significant milestone in our journey towards a more democratic, accountable, and efficient governance system in Taraba State.
“The Supreme Court’s recent judgement which aligns perfectly with our administration’s commitment to decentralization and local empowerment, sets a clear path for the full autonomy of our Local Government Areas.
”This judgement reaffirms my earlier decision to conduct the Local Government Council election on the 18th of November 2023 and to proceed with the needed swearing-in of the elected council chairmen on the 23rd of November 2023.
“Furthermore, to enhance the capacity of the newly elected Council officials, we organised a comprehensive workshop and induction programme for the council chairmen before the assumption of duties in their respective Local Government Areas.
“This initiative was to provide them with the necessary skills and knowledge to address the myriad of challenges they may face, particularly, the security issues that have plagued our state in the past. We are committed to equipping our local leaders with the tools they need to succeed.
“It is also worth noting that for the first time in our state’s history, a Local Government Election Tribunal was established without receiving a single election petition.
“This unprecedented achievement speaks volumes about the transparency, fairness, and credibility of the electoral process we have put in place. It is a confirmation of our collective commitment to upholding the principles of democracy and justice.
“By the power conferred on me as the Governor of Taraba State, I hereby inaugurate this committee as the Taraba State Local Government Areas Autonomy Advisory Committee with the following terms of reference; Implementation Oversight, Capacity Building, Financial Autonomy, Administrative Reforms, Security Coordination, Community Engagement, Evaluation and Feedback, And any Other Areas that are Deemed Necessary”.
For Makinde, the governor on Monday set up two committees saddled with the responsibilities of reviewing the Supreme Court judgement on local government autonomy and coming up with recommendations that will ensure that the change does not affect the people of the state negatively.
Makinde maintained that the judgement has created a constitutional lacuna that will throw up different challenges at the local government level.
He said though he is not opposed to transparency in the councils, the Supreme Court judgement “is not a silver bullet that will wash away” Nigeria’s problems.
The governor said, “I called this meeting because I felt that even though we have not seen the Certified True Copy of the judgment of the Supreme Court, we have to be proactive and discuss the decision of the Supreme Court as it concerns financial autonomy of the local government councils because I believe a lacuna has been created between the decision and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that we all swore to uphold.
“The law is the law and when there is a conflict, yes, we should go to the court. But it behooves on us to look for our own homegrown solutions that can ensure that we have transparency and that our people do not suffer. This is because when two elephants are fighting it is the grass that will suffer.
Makinde noted that his administration inherited a local government system that owed a backlog of salaries, gratuities and pensions.
He added, “I am saying this because Oyo State will get out of this even stronger. We are people that know what is good for our people.
“Before we came in, leave bonuses were last paid in 2017 and we have paid for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. The Primary Health Care facilities, inner roads were all in bad shape. But we have been working collaboratively with the LGs to deliver dividends of democracy to our people.
“We were able to clear those salary arrears. We paid N18bn in pension and gratuities over this period. We upgraded about 209 PHCs, equipped about 264, and completed 60 model schools. We constructed and renovated hundreds of primary school classrooms and fixed some of our roads.
“But there are still challenges that we have to address. We still have a backlog of gratuities and pensions. The local governments owe about N55bn in pension and gratuities. We are developing infrastructure that would push the economy and raise the living standard of their people and push their economy towards sustainable goals.”
Briefing newsmen shortly after the closed door meeting, the Oyo State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Hon. Ademola Ojo, stated that the two committees set up by the governor had been given a frame time of four to six weeks to come up with the homegrown approach to addressing the lacuna created by the Supreme Court judgement.
Channels TV/Pacesetter