The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has reiterated its call for true autonomy for Local Governments (LGs) in Nigeria, stating that it is crucial for addressing the country’s escalating security challenges.
This appeal was made during a press conference held in Abuja on Thursday, following an emergency meeting of ALGON’s Executive Council, Board of Trustees (BOT), and past presidents.
Hon. Ibrahim Dasuki, former ALGON President and a member of the BOT, emphasized the pivotal role that local governments and traditional institutions play in managing security issues. He noted that most security challenges, including insurgency, banditry, and communal clashes, originate at the grassroots level.
“If you look at the security challenges we are facing in Nigeria, virtually in every zone is local in nature, it does not happen in the city, be it insurgency, banditry … happened at local government levels. Why is it so, it is because of the failure of the local government system. If you look back to history, our local governments played key roles in ensuring peace and security, especially the responsibilities given to traditional institutions,” Dasuki stated.
He recalled the historical effectiveness of local governments and traditional institutions in maintaining peace and security, particularly before the 1976 reforms.
“Over time, there were reforms, especially in 1976. In the north, we had a native authority, and Emir was a leader then. Whoever comes to town and city, he must be registered, he must be known,” he explained.
Revisiting the Past to Secure the Future
Dasuki argued that Nigeria’s current security challenges cannot be effectively addressed without revisiting the older system of local governance. “You can deploy a number of security personnel, and use whatever weapons, but so long as you don’t have structure, you can have some achievements in the short term but it cannot be sustained, you will see reemergence again,” he warned.
He urged the government to incorporate traditional institutions into the security framework, emphasizing their unique position to identify and address local threats. “It is imperative because despite the fact that there is a security committee comprising all the security agencies, we have to incorporate traditional institutions into the system so that they play a key role in solving security challenges,” he added.
Commendation for Supreme Court Judgment on LG Autonomy
Dasuki also praised the Supreme Court’s recent judgment granting financial autonomy to local governments, which is currently being implemented by President Bola Tinubu’s administration. He described the judgment as a significant step toward achieving true autonomy for LGs.
“We are happy that things have started to change with the Supreme Court judgment because the Supreme Court has not left any stone unturned regarding the proper administration of local government.
“It (judgment) talks about the financial autonomy, administrative autonomy and political autonomy. The financial autonomy had been granted a long time ago through the signing of an Executive Order by former President Muhammadu Buhari,” he said.
He also noted “President Bola Tinubu is currently implementing the Supreme Court judgment on the financial autonomy, and also administrative autonomy.
“The political aspect is also being done by the National Assembly as the NASS lawmakers were directed to look at those key areas so that true autonomy of local government can be achieved.
“So, if that can be done and achieved over a period of time, I believe that some of the security challenges we are seeing can be managed and probably resolved in due time,” he said.
Dasuki expressed optimism that full autonomy for local governments would lead to better management and resolution of security challenges over time.
Implementation Committee Making Steady Progress
Hon. Odunayo Ategbero, Chairman of ALGON’s BOT, commended the Implementation Committee on Local Government Financial Autonomy for its progress despite facing significant challenges. He highlighted the committee’s efforts to ensure seamless implementation of the Supreme Court judgment.
“Our focus remains on the Supreme Court judgment of July 11, 2024, which granted financial autonomy to local governments. The Federal Government has set up an implementation committee under the leadership of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and we are impressed with their work so far,” Ategbero said.
He acknowledged the pressures faced by the committee but praised its commitment to resisting external influences.
According to him, despite bottlenecks and pressures, the committee has remained patriotic and focused.
The Federal Government has instructed local governments to open accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to facilitate direct allocation of funds.
