The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara, has
\nsaid that the House is working to grant financial autonomy to local
\ngovernments in the ongoing constitution alteration exercise because that
\nis the only way to guarantee development at the grassroot.<\/p>\n
The speaker also charged local government workers to step up agitation for
\nlocal government autonomy, saying only through their individual and
\ncollective efforts will the desired change be achieved.<\/p>\n
Dogara gave this charge when he received the national executive members of
\nthe National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), who paid him a
\ncourtesy visit in the National Assembly.<\/p>\n
The speaker noted that no progress can be achieved in the local government
\nif the present status quo of interference and administration by state
\ngovernors is retained, adding that local governments must be financially
\nand politically autonomous to trigger development in the rural areas.<\/p>\n
He said, “It is a responsibility all of us owe to our people. As a matter
\nof fact, we are not even doing it for you, we are doing it for the
\nNigerian people. And the way local government administration is in
\nNigeria, I must say it is truly a stab on the conscience of every true
\ndemocrat. It doesn’t matter whether you are the president, if you are a
\nsenator, a member of the House of Representatives, a leader of any of
\nthese institutions or in the judiciary.”<\/p>\n
The speaker informed them that some governors who opposed local government
\nautonomy are of the view that local governments will collapse if their
\nadministration is handed over to the elected chairmen.
\nHowever, the speaker argued that state governors\u00a0 would have “extricated
\nthemselves from blame if they let local governments free.”<\/p>\n
He added that progress can never be gotten by maintaining the status quo
\nand the House has chosen to ensure that the ongoing Constitution Amendment
\nexercise captures the yearnings of millions of Nigerians for development
\nin the grassroots.<\/p>\n
“For us as representatives of the people, we have heard the cry of the
\npeople and we know that the only way we can add value to local government
\nis by giving them political and financial independence. This will expand
\nopportunites in the grassroots.”<\/p>\n
Earlier, the delegation from NULGE commended the Speaker for leading the
\ncampaign and advocacy for local government autonomy and described him as a
\npatriot and statesman.<\/p>\n
He called on the\u00a0 speaker to ensure that the ongoing Constitution
\nAmendment captures local government autonomy,\u00a0 adding that he should
\ninvolve all stakeholders that can bring it to fruition, including
\nPresident Muhammadu Buhari, who they said is in the best position to
\nensure that governors stop violation of the constitutionally provided
\nroles of local government officials.<\/p>\n
National president of NULGE, Ibrahim Khaleel, also appealed to the Speaker
\nto pass their agitations to president Muhammadu Buhari whom they said, is
\nin the best position to rally for the support of state governors.<\/p>\n
“You have the capacity as speaker of this House, together with your
\nteam,to make Mr President understand that it is only him and only him that
\ncan change the situation. No amount of agitation ir campaign can change
\nthe minds of the governors. When he calls the governors and speakers of
\nthe House of Assembly, he can make the difference.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara, has said that the House is working to grant financial autonomy to local governments in the ongoing constitution alteration…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":55538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n