Following agitations in some quarters clamouring for local government autonomy, the Delta State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade David Ofoeyeno, has insisted that local government autonomy remains the panacea to grassroots development.

The state NLC Chairman who has been a strong crusader for local government autonomy in the country, again, reaffirmed his position during an interview with journalists in Asaba, the state capital, on Tuesday.

Ofoeyeno, while saying that no meaningful development could take place in any nation that undermines the interest of those at the grassroot, carpeted opponents of local government autonomy, saying they rather have personal political interests.

Meanwhile, the State NLC Boss has condemned in strong terms the agitations by some persons craving for the scrapping of Joint Accounts by States and Local Governments in the country, stressing that scrapping joint accounts at this particular material time, will rather put the various local governments into financial stress.

He said, “If I am in the position to change things like you asked, I think that the local government should be granted autonomy, because, the issue of autonomy has to do with how each local government should begin to control its own resources.

“This again, will ensure that the grassroots developments would be given the needed attention. What we have now in place is centered on politics and politicking. One will begin to ask, why the states Houses of Assembly and the various State Governors are kicking against local government autonomy; it is because of their personal interests.

“This is so because, to a large extent, they control the local government administration; making sure that the various local government Chairmen and Councilors are installed by them. For instance, what happened at the Delta State House of Assembly on Tuesday August 4th where members of the House had to suspend the Chairman of Uvwie local government; ordinarily, if the local government is autonomous, members of the state House of Assembly would not have had such power to do what they did.

“If there were any breach of peace or perhaps if the Chairman of that council had acted contrary to the local government rules and regulations, it is the prerogative of the councilors in that local government to preside over that issue.”

Update news