That there may be grassroots development
For some days now one of the popular news items reported virtually every day in the media has been the issue of zero allocation to the local governments in Ogun State as alleged by the suspended Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government, Hon. Wale Adedayo.
Adedayo had in a privately written letter to the Former Governor of the state and national leader of the ruling party, Chief Olusegun Osoba detailed sordid financial state of the local governments under Gov. Abiodun.
Adedayo, had accused Abiodun of withholding the statutory Federal Allocation due to the state’s Local Governments in the last two years amounting to about N10.8bn alleging that it has been zero allocation for the local governments in the state since they got on board in July 2021.
While reeling out the perceived financial impropriety against Gov Abiodun, Adedayo particularly said “former President Muhammadu Buhari assisted the states and Local Governments with what we call palliatives today. They called it, SURE-P. The first sent to the 20 local governments in Ogun State was N2.5 billion. The second one was, N2.6 billion. The third was, N2.8 billion, while the fourth shortly before Buhari left office was N2.9 billion. Not a dime of these funds was released to any local government in Ogun State.
He had alleged further that even the 10 per cent of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue, which the constitution also stipulated should go to the local governments, has not been given since Abiodun got into office.
He explained that when state leadership of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) took the matter up with the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo, early this year, the Commissioner had claimed that the 20 local governments were owing the state government N17 billion, which they continue to deduct saying that he however knew for a fact that “my Ijebu East Local Government is not owing Abeokuta one Naira!”
Governor Abiodun has however debunked thus alleged diversion of the fund for the local governments in the state explaining that rather, his administration had often had to augment the funds allocated to local governments in the state from the Federation Account to enable them to meet their obligations.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Lekan Adeniran, the Governor said that funds meant for local governments in the state are being handled by the constitutionally recognised Joint Account and Allocation Committee (JAAC) and it always ensured that the third tier of government received its required allocations for optimal performance adding that the latest meeting by the JAAC held last week was widely reported in the media.
The statement said, “The meeting, which was held at the Conference Hall, Oba’s Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, over N5bn was shared among the 20 local government areas, out of which over N2 billion went into paying teachers.
“Between May 2023 when the Governor was sworn in for the second term and July 2023, the JAAC shared among 20 local governments N4.531b, N4.444b and N4.497b respectively on first line charges and just last week N5.2b was shared among the local governments for the month of August.”
The JAAC, according to the statement, comprises major stakeholders in local government administration, including the Chief Economic Adviser to the governor, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Accountant General of the State, Permanent Secretary, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, all 20 local government chairmen, one representative from each of the four Traditional Councils in the state, representative of SUBEB, NULGE, local govt pensioners, retired primary school teachers, Local Government Service Commission, Local Government Pension Commission and NUT.
The constitution which created the local government as the third tier of the government and of course the closest to the people never made mistakes.
Years back when the local governments were allowed to have access to their federal allocations, one can point to lot of developmental projects initiated by these council bosses and these rages from grading of roads, construction or rehabilitation of access roads, construction of healthcentres, schools, boreholes, townhall and many more but time has changed now such that it now looks as if the local governments now exist on paper.
It is so bad that some of these local ggovernments across the nation have been so pauperised that they cannot even cut the overgrown weeds surrounding their secretariats.
In fact, another grave consequence of the neglect of the local government is our festering problem of insecurity. It is said that in the days of yore when the local government was still very strong and allow to function as stipulated by the Constitution, the weekly security meeting was a must and that it importantly help to critically review the security situation in the local government and of course proffer timely intervention.
It should be on record that the controversies over the underfunding of the local government is not only peculiar to Ogun State but a general malaise across the country which is putting question mark on our growing democracy.
It is against this background that that people want President Bola Tinubu to as a matter of urgency have a frank talk with the state governors behaving as emperors and allow each local government chairman to have access to their funds and use the resources to better the lots of their people.
Many have equally said that the LG bosses should not be allowed to have access to allocations and other funds accruing to their local governments because such resources would be squandered but this argument does not hold water because there are many of these governor who have either been jailed or being tried for various staggering corruption offences.
In this regard, the government should rather devise means to monitor these local governments chairmen and get anyone caught dipping his or hands into the funds punished very severely to serve as deterrent to others.
The summary of it all is that if Nigeria will ever get it right and if ever President Tinubu will make any headway with his renewed hope agenda, then he must waste no further time to call the state governors to order.
