Former federal lawmaker, Chief Sam Onuigbo, has called on Nigerians to demand the implementation of local government autonomy from their political leaders.
Onuigbo, a member of the Governing Board of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), spoke in Abuja on Wednesday, noting that it was unfortunate that one month after the Supreme Court ruling of July 11, 2024, the autonomy of the third tier of government remained unrealised.
He alleged that state governors continued to be the major obstacle to the enforcement of the judgment.
Onuigbo urged citizens to hold their elected officials accountable to ensure that local government councils function effectively.
*“It is up to the people to begin to ask those questions, extract responses from their local government chairmen and use that as a basis because right now, it is still guesswork.
*“When you go to many local governments, you see basically nothing happening.
“But when you put together the amount that they have received over the months you see that it is running into billions of naira. So where has the money gone to?” he asked.
The former lawmaker said that despite the court ruling, state governments had retained over N4.5 trillion meant for local councils.
He explained that the Supreme Court’s decision was designed to promote grassroots development and democratisation by ensuring that councils receive their allocations directly from the first charge.
Onuigbo, however, noted that the slow pace of implementation was linked to constitutional provisions, particularly Section 162, which mandates joint state and local government accounts.
*“The Federal Government has done what it’s supposed to do.
“The federal government has also gone ahead to make sure that we have a transparent process, for which we have to commend Mr President (Bola Tinubu) for what he has been able to do,” he said.
He advised citizens and civil society organisations to demand accountability by questioning how allocations and local government funds were being utilised.
*“The delay in implementing local government autonomy has raised concerns about the potential for increased corruption and mismanagement at the local government level.
“Civil society organisations and local government officials have welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision, viewing it as a step towards fulfilling the constitutional mandate of local government autonomy,” he said.
Onuigbo further commended President Tinubu for transparency in the federation account, ensuring that sub-national governments received their due allocations.
(NAN)