In line with its tradition of taking hard and difficult
decisions with far-reaching implications on the Nigerian system,
the present government recently re-emphasized financial autonomy to
local governments in Nigeria.
This reminder was contained in a release by the Nigerian
Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to the effect that from June
1st, 2019, disbursement from the joint state/local government
accounts in relation to local government allocations should be
credited to local government Account and that states would cease to
participate in the meddling of their accounts. This was a seal to
the autonomy many Nigerians had been calling for the serially
abused local government system in Nigeria. The NFIU directive
stopped the control of local government funds by states and limited
the cash withdrawals by local governments to N500,000 daily. The
move is seen as the most radical in giving the local governments
the needed power to manage their affairs and resources outside the
states which have treated local government funds as its own and
have released paltry amounts to the councils.
The decision has been widely lauded and seen as a way of
ensuring the third tier of government lives up to its real
constitutional roles as the tier of government nearest to the
people and with constitutional capacity to attend to their basic
needs more than other tiers of government. Simply put, local
governments have been conquered vassal estates of the states and
their resources spent at the whims and caprices of the state
governments who have perfected the art of rail-roading their
hirelings to control these local governments on their behalf.
Through a ubiquitous state/local government joint account, the
allocations for local governments have been spent as the state
governments deem fit and this has grandly defeated the idea behind
the third tier of government as the local governments were reduced
to mere appendages that satisfy the desires of the states and
nothing more.
But with the emphasis on financial autonomy by the present
government through this NFIU directive, there is no doubt that the
local governments will play more expansive and vital roles in the
lives of the citizens if they manage the resources that accrue to
them justly. There is no doubt that the bold decision of the NFIU
is freeing the local governments from the stranglehold of the
states and unleashing their real potentials on the populace, if the
monster of corruption and fiscal brigandage is curbed with this new
order. There is no doubt that this decisive impetus granted local
governments by this government is going to initiate a regime of
responsibility, which has been denied this vital tier of government
for the greater parts of its existence.
Before this directive, the local government has undergone a
macabre rape by politicians and sundry interests that see the
system as a milk cow for them and their cahoots while the interests
of the people suffer. Every month, humongous allocations have been
released to the local governments and these allocations are
appropriated by the states through the notorious state/local
government joint account and frittered away in reprehensible
manners. Through a shambolic state electoral system, state
governors effortlessly impose their lickspittle and feckless
hirelings to control these local governments and these were often
so powerless to ask questions about the resources of the local
governments or challenge the governors to let free these resources.
So, with this order, the local governments became more appendages
of the state governments while the important roles they should play
in the lives of the citizens and for which they were created were
abandoned to rot.
Successive governments, especially since the advent of the
present democratic dispensation 20 years ago, have moaned in
criminal helplessness as this misnomer thrived. Yes, the civil
society, local government workers and other motley interests have
raised a weak call for the reversal of this order but nothing
substantial was done to correct this. The Obasanjo regime whelped
in sterile helplessness that the local governments had become mere
774 stealing centers but that regime did nothing to correct this in
its eight years in power. The Yar’adua government did not even
betray any knowledge of the fact that the system was raped by
states and their political actors at will. The Jonathan regime,
notorious for its lack of will to even recognize the problems
afflicting the nation it pretended to govern, showed no inkling
that there was any problem with the local government system when he
was moonlighting all over. At best, what happened was the raising
of some splotches of noise here and there about local government
autonomy and nothing more, as the system practically wobbled under
the undue meddlesomeness of state governors.
But with the new directive by the NFIU which is notable for
taking hard but necessary decisions that stand to nudge the nation
forward, there is no doubt that the original intendment behind the
creation of local governments would be realized. There is no doubt
that from the ashes of near-death, the local government is about to
spring forth and take up its constitutional roles and be held
accountable for its actions and inactions. This indeed, is a
laudable and far-reaching decision that will not only impact on
governance but delivery of democracy dividends for the citizens and
generations yet unborn will relish this revolutionary action by the
Buhari government which enriches the quest for restructuring more
than the slanted political manipulations it had suffered in recent
times.
However, this new status calls for some follow-up actions and
two of these actions stand out for their presumed impact in
ensuring the ends of this radical decision are not defeated in the
long run. One is on the quality and conduct of elections into local
governments and the other is on the focusing of anti-corruption
klieg lights on the local governments to ensure they conform to the
noble intents behind this decision.
On the conduct of local government elections, one is positively
inclined to recommend that the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) take over the conduct of elections to local
government councils from the state electoral committees who are
merely inclined to ram in the cronies of state governors to control
this vital tier through the shambolic and horrific elections they
conduct to local councils. INEC should take over the conduct of
local government election and streamline it with the national
election calendar so there would be form and content to local
government administration in line with the new lease of life it had
been granted. Leaving the conduct of local government elections in
the hands of state electoral commissions will wholly defeat the
essence of the bold decision to grant financial autonomy to local
governments for governors will merely railroad their cronies in as
local government chairmen and in cohorts with them, fangle out ways
of still controlling the purses of local governments.
Equally important is the need for the various anti-corruption
agencies to increase interests in local governments by closely
monitoring the finances of the local government to ensure they are
not frittered away by the helmsmen of these councils. Granted, a
daily cash withdrawal limit has been set but knowing Nigerian
politicians for what they are, there is no gainsaying that they
will device ingenious ways of short-circuiting the directive as
well as other anti-corruption measures put in place to drain the
resources of the councils and leave us just at the macabre state
the system is now. The anti-graft agencies will have to come closer
the local councils and closely monitor their activities if the new
policy is not to be frustrated by corrupt players at that level.
One way to ensure probity and accountability is to ensure the
publication of the monthly allocations for each local government
council to enable citizens compare such with the service they
receive from these councils. But let the anti-corruption agencies
carry out regular swoops on the local councils to ensure they don’t
become new drain pipes for the resources of the people.
There are very many other reforms needed to make the local
government more effective but granting them financial autonomy as
had been done by this regime, is like granting it a soul. This
indeed is revolutionary but it behooves on all of us as citizens
and shareholders of the local governments to ensure that the noble
aims behind this bold decision are not defeated by pernicious
politicians and their very many sly ways. We can do this by
focusing more attention on the business of local governments and
reporting misdemeanors in the system to relevant disciplinary
agencies for redress.
All said, this new directive merits any worthwhile praise and
commendation for mustering the scarce political will to take this
radical decision that will not only restore the potency, viability
and importance of this tier of government but redraw the governance
map in Nigeria at the local government level.
Mr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani Esq, Former 2nd
NBA.