FG To Create Another Bureaucracy Over LG Autonomy
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the federal government is trying to create another bureaucracy through the Supreme Court judgement that granted autonomy to local government councils across the country.
The main opposition party which vowed that the last has not been heard about the issue also described the move as a recipe for trouble.
The Supreme Court had ruled last month that the 36 state governors can no longer control funds meant for the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the country.
The judgment also affirmed that local governments must manage their own funds if they are Democratically elected by the people.
In his reaction to the judgment, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, had said it “behoves us to look for our own homegrown solutions that can ensure that we have transparency and that our people do not suffer. (referring to the judgment) This is because when two elephants are fighting, it is the grass that will suffer.”
But addressing a press conference at the party headquarters on Sunday,
Answering a question on the position of the Oyo State governor on the Supreme Court judgement, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Hon Debo Ologunagba said, “We believe that if there are reforms to be made on the local government, it should be done in conjunction with the governors, not by the fiat of the federal government.
“But, of course, I believe that will not be the end of the matter as we speak because the people who have a responsibility for the local government are the governors.
“The federal government doesn’t see people in my village; it is the governors….
“If there is a problem in the local government, they won’t call the federal government; they will call the state government.”
