2027: Don’t contest if you won’t support LG autonomy, LAVAN tells guber candidates

The Landlords and Residents Association of Nigeria (LAVAN) has warned governorship candidates planning to contest the 2027 elections against seeking office if they are not prepared to support full autonomy for local governments.

The National President of LAVAN, High Chief Falola O. Ogidan, gave the warning at a press conference, saying elected governors must respect the wishes of the people who gave them their mandates by allowing local governments to operate independently.

Ogidan said local government autonomy was essential to enabling councils to provide infrastructure and other services directly to communities without undue interference.

He said, “I want to use this medium to intimate to all governorship candidates for the coming 2027 election that are not yet ready to comply with the local government autonomy bill, they should not be wasting their money; it is better they should not contest.”

According to him, LAVAN, as a voice for communities, would mobilise residents to hold governors accountable where they fail to support local government autonomy.

He said, “If truly we are the landlords association as Nigeria Community Voice, we will remove such governor from office, because all democratic civilian governors that are voted into office by their communities must also dance to the tune of the people that voted them into office.”

READ ALSO: LG autonomy: Missing link in Nigeria’s development

Ogidan maintained that local governments must be allowed to function independently to make it easier for them to deliver the dividends of democracy, particularly infrastructure and other basic services, to communities.

He also called for greater community participation in monitoring local government finances, saying LAVAN would seek access to councils’ annual expenditure records.

“At this juncture, landlords association as heads of communities and community voice will now have access to monitor them and request for the local government annual expenditure,” he said.

The LAVAN president further proposed a joint engagement involving the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to push the local government autonomy issue.

“Henceforth, the LAVAN National President will like to hold a meeting with President of ALGON and NULGE to meet with INEC Chairman to take a bold step on this issue of local government autonomy,” he said.

He also urged the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to take note of the association’s position and act to strengthen local government autonomy.

The call comes amid continuing debate over the extent to which Nigeria’s local governments should operate independently of state governments, particularly in relation to their finances, administration and delivery of services to communities.