Last week, the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment that brought new hope to the local government system in the country.

The apex court for the first time since 1999, when Nigeria returned to democratic rule, gave the councils financial autonomy.

Before now, the states hiding under Section 162 (6) of the 1999 Constitution, which created the Joint State/Local Government Account have been managing allocation from the Federation Account meant for the councils with the majority of the state governors misappropriating the funds.

Thus, most often, state governors have refused to conduct council polls, preferring to run them with Caretaker Committee chairmen.

Before the Supreme Court judgment, 21 out of the 36 states are running their local government areas with Caretaker Chairmen.

Thus, the majority of Nigerians and workers at the local government councils across the country heaved a sigh of relief as the Supreme Court ordered that the statutory allocations from the Federation Account due to the local governments that constitute the third tier of government be paid directly to democratically elected local government councils only.

In the same judgment, the apex court in clear terms outlawed the practice of state governors sacking elected local government councils and appointing handpicked lackeys as chairmen and members of caretaker or transition committees to preside over the councils, a practice that hitherto allowed the state governors to draw the statutory allocations of the local governments and allowing them a paltry sum.

Expectedly, the apex court judgment has elicited various reactions, as well as revived the old issue of accumulated unpaid arrears of salaries, pensions, leave allowances and promotion bonuses of workers of the local governments.

While some state governments have been faithful in paying local government workers their due benefits, the defaulting group of states must now come to terms with the reality of the Supreme Court judgment. Already, most of the states are now fixing dates to hold council elections

ABIA

The major challenge facing local governments in Abia is the state government’s interference in the financial affairs and the general running of the councils. This has in no small way made the local governments in the state not to live up to their responsibilities to the people.

As Sunday Sun learnt from Okey Okorie who was councillor in one of the local governments in the state from 1999 to 2002, the local governments in the state received their statutory allocations directly from the Federal Account when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was the president and things were a lot better at that level of governance at the time.

He said that since the state government began to meddle in the affairs of the third tier of government, including deciding on their funds, local government went into decline in terms of discharging their responsibilities to the people.

“When we were in the council from 1999 to 2002, local governments were getting their allocations directly from the Federal Government and we did a whole lot of developmental projects for our people.

“But since the governors began dictating what would be done with local government funds, the councils became worse for it,” he said.

As a result of the disruptive interference, the councils began to owe salaries to their workers. A staff of one of the local governments who wouldn’t want his name in print for fear of victimization, told Sunday Sun: “The previous administration in the state owed local government workers two months’ salary for October and November, 2022 and the arrears are yet to be paid.

“It is not a thing of joy to note that for the past nine years, no staff of the local government in Abia has received leave allowance, not because the Federal Government has not been sending monthly allocations to the Councils, but the governors who were in control of these funds, refused to pay the workers.”

It was for this reason that people generally, not only local government workers in the state, lauded the Supreme Court judgment on local government autonomy.

Prior to the judgment, local governments in the state were and are still being run by Caretaker Committees with the state government promising to conduct election after studying the apex court judgment.

Currently, through the instrumentality of the State and Local Governments Joint Account, the state government directly pays the salaries of council workers. In fact, when it comes to the handling or disbursement of local government funds, the third tier of government is an appendage of sorts to the state government.

“When governors in the state had not started dipping their fingers in the till of the LGAs, the councils were able to grade rural roads and perform other statutory functions,” Ikoro Olu, a resident of Umuahia, said, adding that “I remember vividly that when the local governments were getting their monthly allocations from Abuja directly, they were able to do so many things, including grading of rural roads. It is quite unfortunate that since governors started having a say in the finances of the councils, the LGAs are no longer even able to keep their office surroundings clean, not to talk of embarking on any developmental project for the rural communities.”

Olu opined that it was for this reason that all lovers of democracy, and indeed good things, welcomed the judgment of the Supreme Court on LG financial autonomy.

BENUE

In June 2023, the Benue State House of Assembly suspended all the 23 elected local government chairmen and their councillors.

They were alleged to have misappropriated funds meant for their councils after an ad hoc committee the House of Assembly set up to investigate their income and expenditure, sent the report to Governor Hyacinth Alia.

The committeee asked the House to extend the period of the review to cover the entire tenure of the outgone administration of Samuel Ortom, beginning from June 2015 to May 2023, saying that the three months investigation into the finances of the councils revealed serious infringements on the Financial Memorandum of Local Government and other extant laws governing the management of funds at the third tier of government.

They recommended the immediate suspension of the chairmen in all the 23 local government councils and also the legislative arms for conniving with the executive arm to misappropriate the funds of the councils.

They urged the governor to proceed to set up caretaker committees in line with the Benue State Local Government Law.

The state government appointed Caretaker committees which were to serve for six months, after which elections would be conducted.

At the eexpiration of the period, the government reappointed them for another six months.

The promised elections are yet to be held, though preparations are ongoing to hold them.

When our correspondent contacted the state ALGON chairman and some caretaker chairmen to speak on the Supreme Court judgment, they declined comments.

But the immediate past elected chairman of Guma Local Government Area, Hon. Mike Uba hailed the judgment as a welcome development which would bring development and other benefits of democracy closer to the people.

Uba noted that issue of using caretaker committees to run the affairs of the LGAs has been a problem as they have not been able to attend to the insecurity in their respective councils.

While acknowledging that Governor Alia has been doing well in paying salaries, he lamented that the chunk of salary and pension arrears that he inherited were yet to be paid.

He described the Supreme Court judgment as a welcome development, saying: “If local government chairmen and councillors are given a free hand and allowed to operate on their own, there will be massive development. With financial autonomy of LGAs, rural people will benefit as roads will be opened, bridges will be constructed and even tarred roads will be noticed in most of the LGs.”

He said with the autonomy, the chairmen are expected to work closely with the Financial General Purpose Committee to pencil down projects and activities that would affect the lives of the people and they would also be expected to ensure that allocations accruing to the respective LGs are accounted for.

“They need to do something so that the people will feel it and know that democracy is working,” Uba said.

Some of the residents who spoke to Sunday Sun, Mr Aondona Akpen, Tersoo Iorhule and Mike Adulugba also commended the Supreme Court on the judgment and charged the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission to immediately conduct local government elections.

Meanwhile, Governor Alia has said that he had granted local government autonomy long before the Supreme Court judgment.

A statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, said that as soon as Governor Alia came into office, he granted financial autonomy to local governments in Benue State and monies meant for the councils are sent directly to their various bank accounts.

He said: “It is also on record that Governor Hyacinth Alia has always made known his stand on the issue of local government autonomy.

“He has severally expressed his support at different for a, and has been variously quoted in the media as a supporter of local government autonomy.

“For instance, in March 2024, while declaring open a two-day workshop put together by the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in conjunction with Timarage Nigeria Limited, for chairmen and members of the local government interim executives in the state, the governor re-echoed the same stand.”

He said that the governor is committed to the growth and development of the system and has outlined adequate plans to open up the rural areas to enable rural economies to thrive.

“Therefore, Thursday’s Supreme Court pronouncement only came as a backing to Alia’s stance and decision on local government autonomy.

“As a progressive-minded leader, Governor Alia is very committed to President Tinubu’s intention to ensure the country’s rural transformation, which he believes will be achieved only when the local councils are autonomous,” Kula said.

RIVERS

The current political crisis in Rivers State has grounded governance both at the state and local government levels, especially the latter.

The eruption of the political crisis on October 18, 2023, between pro-Wike members of the State House of Assembly and the Governor Siminalayi Fubara, also affected the council chairmen, who showed loyalty to the former governor of the state and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

The tenure of the council chairmen expired on June 18, 2024, but they wanted an elongation of their period, complaining that they were starved of funds by the state government.

Following the appointment of chairmen for the Caretaker Committees, Governor Fubara mandated them to clear all unpaid salaries.

So, local government workers are not owed in the state as at today.

Local government workers received the Supreme Court verdict with gladness. Some of the workers, who asked not be identified in print, said the judgment would help them to hold their chairmen accountable and monitor expenditure.

They said that with direct allocation from the Federation Account, they now have hopes of receiving their monthly salaries at the same time like their counterparts in the state’s civil service.

Among people at the grassroots, the strong belief is that getting their allocation directly from the Federation Account would fast-track development at council level, without the state delaying release of their funds.

Proper election has not been conducted. The caretaker committee chairmen were appointed about three weeks before the Supreme Court verdict.

The state government had fixed October 5 to conduct local government elections before the apex court’s judgment was delivered.

Governor Fubara had already released funds to the caretaker committee chairmen to kick-off. When the governor appointed them, one of the mandates he gave them was to pay all the salaries and allowances of the embattled chairmen and councillors, as well as the workers.

Some of the caretaker committee chairmen had appointed hundreds of aides with one of them appointing over 600 aides. Rivers people believe that the reason they could appoint such “embarrassing number of aides” was because the governor released funds to them.

Before the Supreme Court verdict, the CTC chairmen in Rivers State had not accessed the council headquarters because of the political crisis in the state.

The governor told them to operate from any chosen location, following the barricade of the 23 council secretariats by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

On Wednesday, July 17, youths of Khana Local Government Area staged a peaceful protest to the Government House, Port Harcourt, demanding the removal of the Caretaker Committee chairman, Marvin Yobana, barely a month after appointment.

They accused him of pocketing the LGA and engaging in marginalization, emphasizing that Khana LGA was not for sale.

EDO

In Edo State, there are 18 local government areas and each of them has an elected chairman.

The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Edo State, Comrade Lazarus Adorolo, said the local people received the Supreme Court judgment with mixed feelings.

Though many local people and stakeholders welcomed the judgment, seeing it as a positive step towards strengthening grassroots governance and reducing the over- bearing tendencies of the state governments, there has also been skepticism regarding the actual implementation and the potential for continued political interference.

He maintained that the people expect the chairmen to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of funds, improve local infrastructure and public services, foster economic development and create job opportunities.

He also said that they expect them to effectively address local security challenges and engage more with the community and be responsive to their needs.

He lamented that during the era of caretaker committees, the people often experienced reduced accountability and transparency in governance, poor delivery of basic services and infrastructure development.

He also said that the local government level experienced increased political interference and instability, lack of continuity in policies and programmes, limited public participation and representation in local governance.

IMO

Since 1999, the state has only held three local government elections, two under the administration of Achike Udenwa and one under Ikedi Ohakim in 2010.

On his part, Rochas Okorocha sacked the elected council chairmen immediately he assumed office and serially appointed Transition Council chairmen, who presided over the local governments all through the eight years he was governor.

However, six months to the end of his tenure, he hurriedly conducted council election, which was boycotted by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the main opposition party in the state.

However, under the short-lived administration of Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha as state governor, the 27 councils witnessed some structural development, especially the construction of council headquarters and mini stadia, access roads and civic centres, between May 29 and January 15, 2020. But following his ouster by the apex court, the caretaker chairmen he appointed were immediately sacked by Governor Hope Uzodimma.

This led to the termination of all ongoing projects in the 27 councils.

The chairman of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Imo State chapter, Comrade Charles Okere, said that the union and its members wholeheartedly supported the apex court judgment that granted financial autonomy to the third tier of governance.

He said: “We are fully in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on issue of local government financial autonomy because the councils will henceforth choose the projects to be executed in the communities against the current practice where the state government determines the projects to be done in the councils. Once local governments have financial autonomy they will choose and implement projects which the people need most because they are closer to the people. The people will also hold them to account because they are accessible and can be easily reached. Again, with the autonomy, the issues of the dissolution of the councils by state governors who then appoint their aides as caretaker committee chairmen will cease. This situation has led to the decline of the local governments.”

On the payment of salaries to the workers, he said: “We have 11,000 local government employees across the 27 local government areas of the state and they are paid as at when due and nobody is being owed. I am saying this authoritatively as the state chairman of National Union of Local Government Employees. It is only about 470 workers of this 11,000 who have not been paid following the staff verification. It was discovered that their employment was an illegal one. Apart from the 470 workers, the government does not owe local government staff across the state.”

A senior staff of a council area in the state, who spoke on condition of anonymity, commended the apex court judgment, saying that it had done the needful to rescue the local government councils from the clutches of the state governors. His words: “We thank President Bola Tinubu and the Supreme Court for freeing the local government councils from the hands of the governors. For instance, here at the council, we receive not less than N200 million a month and sometimes more from the Federation Account, but what gets to the council is just money for salaries of workers and imprest. So, the council cannot carry out any projects no matter how little including grading of roads in the council.”

Meanwhile, local government workers have been happy since the Supreme Court judgment was announced. However, they are hopeful that the council polls to be held in September will still happen to end the era of withheld salaries.

KOGI

Workers in Kogi State local government councils have been ecstatic and celebrating the landmark apex court judgment.

This is because the LGA workers and primary school teachers have been passing through hell, such that most of their family members can hardly eat two meals a day owing to the percentage payment of their salaries.

Findings revealed that the local government workforce in Kogi State are still under the N18,000 minimum wage regime, yet they are only paid varying percentages of the minimum.

Added to this terrible situation is the fact that over 15 years their leave bonus and promotion arrears have not been paid.

For example, some local government workers get between 20 to 35 per cent of their monthly salaries with level 12 officials getting less than N8,000 and this depends on the affected local government and the mood of the state government, a situation which made it difficult to really know the amount of salaries owed to workers as arrears. (Sunday Sun)

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