An x-ray of local governments activities in the South-East

HISTORICALLY, the local government administration in Nigeria dates back to the colonial era. The colonialists did not want frictions with the natives, hence they introduced indirect rule in the North and English version of local government in the Eastern and Western regions.

Between 1960 when the then three regions continued with the existing system and now, there had been  series of development following various types of reforms geared towards making the system relevant to the people at grassroots.

But in the Southeast geo-political zone and indeed other regions in the country,  there are mixed reactions as to the  relevance of local government administration.

Investigations revealed that the local government administration in the zone has, to a large extent, outlived its usefulness due to unhealthy interference by the state governments.

Critics contended that local government administration had become a conduit pipe through which public funds are diverted into private pockets in the name of joint account between local and state governments. “Inefficiency has become a common feature in the local administration”, they alleged. .

In the greater part of the five states in Southeast Zone namely, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States, the irregular payment of salaries to staff of local governments had made many of them to show lackadaisical attitude to work.

The local government bosses are worse off as most of them live in state capitals going to their offices only towards the end of each month.

Prior to Paris Club fund released to states by Federal Government, it was learnt that some local government councils in Enugu State were owed over 11 months salaries.

However, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has made it mandatory that all civil servants of state employ including local government staff to receive their salaries on 25th of every month.

Perhaps, it is against the aforementioned backdrop that the Dean Faculty of Social Sciences, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, (ESUT), Professor Sam Ugwu, recently recommended partial autonomy for local government council areas in the country.

Ugwu’s suggestion came same day that the South East Caucus of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, (NULGE) protested in Enugu, demanding that political autonomy be granted to all the 774 council areas in Nigeria.

Professor Ugwu explained that his proposal for local government partial autonomy is anchored on lack of councils’ financial autonomy, noting that without federation allocations, most local government areas would have ceased to exist.

The Professor of Political Science and former Chairman of Isi-Uzo local government council in Enugu State had in the inaugural lecture stated that granting a good measure of fisical autonomy to local governments will enable them to be able to carry out effectively, the task of rural development.

According to him, ” local government should have direct and unfettered access to statutory allocations from the federation account and their share of the Internally Generated Revenues, IGR, from their states.

He also recommended that Joint Account Committee, JAC, should be made up of local government chairmen only with strict oversight functions by the audit and inspectorate units established by the constitution for local governments.

“Local governments are merely administrative units and centres for development. In other words, the issue of whether local government should be autonomous should rather be located within the context of local governments’ relationships with state.

“It would be fatal to local governments if they have autonomy without meriting it. What the local government needs are devolution of powers and relative autonomy. This can be addressed through constitutional amendments as in progress in the National Assembly,” Ugwu posited

Some of the local government staff interviewed alleged that the ruling political class at the various level of governance had bastardized the noble development ideas behind making the local government system the third tier of governance in Southeast zone as well other parts of the country.

“To make local government administration work effectively, state governments should stop the deduction from local government’s Federal Allocation as well as making local government have financial and administrative autonomy”, a local staff who simply gave his name as Emeka advised.

He recalled that the national leadership of National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) had proposed that “payment of teachers’ salaries to be on first line charge of FAAC, abolition of SIEC and reverting the conduct of local government elections to INEC, implement the ruling of Supreme Court judgment against appointment of caretaker committees for LGs and reckless dissolution of elected local government councils.”

“Comrade Ibrahim Khalee the National President of NULGE suggested a review of the 1999 Constitution that will ensure strict compliance of Section 7 of the Constitution as amended”, he added.