Seyi Makinde
Recently, the Supreme Court of Nigeria settled a case of the ages, setting the Local Government administration free from the hands of state governors, the first breakthrough since 1999.
The Supreme Court judgment categorically declared that the state government should stay clear of local government funds, its administration and election must be conducted to produce Local Government executives before such Local Government can receive monthly allocations from the Federal Government of Nigeria.
This has been a quest of the majority of Nigerians since 1999, and the judgment marked another dividend of democracy from the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government simply for not running away from or taking sides in the case as the previous administrations have been accused of.
Unfortunately, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, reacting to the judgement insisted the Supreme Court ruling was just a "distraction".
Going by the submission of Governor Makinde and that of his Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of Oyo State, Barrister Abiodun Aikomo are claiming the local government Chairmen are incompetent in spending their monthly allocations but they are good to be identified as figured head chairmen.
Going by the submission made by Governor Makinde and Barrister Aikomo, they were listing numbers of projects delivered by the states probably in defense of how Oyo State has been fair, sitting on the funds meant for the Local Government Areas in the state, just as if the local government Chairmen are so dumb that they could not have done better if the money meant for the were not hijacked by the state Governor.
Wonderfully, one may be interested to ask Governor Makinde if the projects listed as his achievement in the defence of state governors' hijacking of local government funds were delivered using "strictly" allocations given to the state or the local government funds.
The Governor was busy talking about the backlog of salary/pension arrears owed by the local government administration in the State as if the state government is not also owing.
Besides, if not for the panicking record of indebtedness incurred by the state government, only God knows the number of decades of backlog of salary/pension that would have been on their necks.
Besides, Barrister Aikomo, a learned legal professional is joining the gang of Governor Makinde to stage a review of the judgment delivered by the apex court in the country, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, of which the honorable commissioner is not a member of the Judiciary Service Commission and fully aware that he lacks capacity, alongside other members of his committee, to checkmate a decision taken by the Supreme Court. We are watching how the committee set up by the Oyo State government will end up bringing any change to the court judgment.
Below are the statements released by Governor Makinde and Barrister Aikomo on the review of the Supreme Court judgment:
Governor Makinde said: “So, on the issue of LG elections in Oyo State, we don’t have caretaker committees at the local level. We planned the elections in a way that not a single day was given out. We have a responsible government in Oyo State, we don’t need the federal government to tell us what to do. We know what is good and we know what is good for our people.
“Go back a little bit, what we inherited as an administration in 2019 was a local government system that was owing backlog of salaries, gratuities, and pensions. 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. We can run our affairs by ourselves. The FG is not superior constitutionally to the state government though they have more resources than the states. So, we can do what is right in Oyo State and we have been doing what is right.
“For the primary school teachers, the Chairman of NUT is here. Before we came in, leave bonuses were last paid in 2017 and we paid that in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. The Primary healthcare facilities and inner roads were all in bad shape. 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 these periods. 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 Omer roads but there are still challenges that we have to address. We still have a backlog of gratuities and pensions.
“The local government is owing about N55bn in pension and gratuities. We are developing infrastructure that would push the economy to raise the living standards of their people and push their economy towards sustainable goals. But for us, at that time, our priority was not to deploy resources. What I am hearing right now is that our problem is not also money but how to share it. But I insist that our problem is not how to share money but how to bake a bigger cake and bring our people out of hunger and poverty and stop the anger in the land.
“Our people do not care if the road is fixed by the FG or the state government or the LG. They just want to see good roads. An example is the Oyo-Iseyin road through Fasola, which is a Federal Government road but the state government fixed it and I have the letter for the FG when I wrote it for approval. It is a critical road to the Oyo State economy.
“I believe it is our problem irrespective of what they are doing at the federal level. We know what is important to the lives of our own people here in Oyo State. I learned FAAC is tomorrow (Tuesday) and all of you can come. We will delay the implementation for the next ninety days, which is three FAACs from now. They will still pay the money into the JAC account.
“You make the laws, you break them. So, the law is at your own… That is not how to run a country. If you make the law, let us all obey the law. For us in Oyo State, we can solve our own problems, deal with our situation, and prioritize our people. Our pass mark is to discuss among ourselves and whatever we agree upon.
“I am not saying things should not be transparent at the local government level but it is a distraction to say this is the magic bullet that will wash away our problems. NULGE is here, NUP, NUT, and others are here. So, let us sit down and discuss and fashion out our own way out of this issue.” Governor Makinde said.
"NULGE is here, NUP, NUT, and others are here. So, let us sit down and discuss and fashion out our own way out of this issue.” Governor Makinde said.
The Attorney General of Oyo state and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Abiodun Aikomo, and Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Otunba Ademola Ojo during a press briefing held at the Press Conference Room of the Governor’s Office said "that the two newly set up committees have been tasked with the responsibility of reviewing the specifics of the Supreme Court ruling and proposing a detailed implementation plan that adheres to both constitutional requirements and practical considerations in the best interest of the people.
Barrister Aikomo also added that the mandate of the committees includes reviewing and recommendation for new frameworks for implementation of the financial autonomy and identifying potential challenges and solutions.
Note: Truly, if the local government administrations have been unproductive and over dependant on the state for survival as Governor Makinde is currently proclaiming, why the much ado about the decision of the court to let the local government operate freely so that everyone would be able to see the hidden facts and judge the local government administrations, accordingly?
Category: World-News
Tag: LG Autonomy Gov Makinde Attempts To Distort Nigerian Constitution
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Published 7/16/2024 4:33:07 PM