Dakum commends FG’s legal action on LG autonomy

The 2023 gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Plateau State, Professor Patrick Dakum, has stated that the legal action taken to secure autonomy for the third tier of government by the Federal Government is a right step in the right direction, saying that it is a pathway to development at the grassroots.

Professor Dakum said in an interview that the third tier of government in Nigeria over the years has often been armed, twisted, and deprived of allocations for development at the grass-roots level.

He stated that if the local governments are developed, the entire country is developed, adding that they cannot be developed without financial autonomy.

He said. “There is the problem of rural development. I was on a platform where they kept talking about the fact that, if you look at rural development from 1999 to this time, there has been neglect of rural areas right from the Joshua Dariye, Jonah Jang, Simon Lalong, and Caleb Mutfwang administrations.

“I made a comment there, saying that rural infrastructure will continue to be stalled unless there is financial autonomy for the local governments. That’s why I am very happy with the Federal Government taking the state governments to court because unless you give them autonomy, there will be no development. Give them autonomy and send the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after them if they misappropriate funds.

“Rural transformation will require complete financial autonomy at the local government, but as I said, put the system in such a way that leakages are blocked.”

He explained that the jurisdictions of state governments are quite different from those of local governments, adding that the governors deliberately confiscated all and brought them under their control, giving them enormous scopes of responsibilities and making the citizens believe that every development hinges on the state governments in the state just to control LGs’ funds.

The former LP gubernatorial candidate said this is responsible for the slow pace at which Nigeria is moving in terms of development, adding that the remedy is for the local governments to have their autonomy without undue interference from governors and let every tier stick to their responsibilities, and rapid development will ensue.

“There are LG roads, schools, health care, and so on, and there are state roads, schools, hospitals, and so on. If each tier handles their responsibilities well, remarkable progress will be achieved.”

He lamented that if only the LGs had their autonomy and worked assiduously, they would create jobs at the grassroots to lessen the burden of unemployment on the federal and state governments, attract investors, and enhance the gross domestic product of the country.

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