By Sunday Oyinloye
A former National Assembly member, Hon. Sam Onuigbo hascalled for true autonomy for the 774 local governments in Nigeria
Onuigbo who is currently member representing the South-East on the Governing Board of the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) in an interview with Green Savannah Diplomatic Cable says it is absolutely important that the current review embarked upon by the National Assembly take a critical look at the local government system and separate Civil Service Commission and the office of the governor from the State Independent Electoral Commission.
According to the Climate Change Advocate, “It is important that in the process of reviewing the constitution they take a look at this to ensure that we have a review that will truly guarantee the independence of the local government such that all the money from the Federation Account to the local government truly gets to the third tier of government so that they put the money into use for the benefit of the masses at the grassroots.
“As we have it today once a local government election is conducted, it is the party that has the Governor in Government House that “wins” all the elective positions.
“My concern is that in a situation whereby money comes from the Federation Account and goes to the state constitutionally, it is the people who were handpicked or appointed that will administer that money that is coming from the Federation Account. I don’t think that’s prudent and judicious enough”.
Responding to a question on what positive effects local government autonomy would have on climate change he said “ local government autonomy will ensure more resources for grassroots mobilization and participation in climate change policies for mitigation.
“When people go in search of timber and others, they deal with with traditional rulers and some local government officials who give them permission to enter the forest to fell trees that have been there for centuries, and then begin to take these away without caring to replace those trees.
“ So, the local government has a critical role to play in structuring the Climate Change Act. The National Council on Climate Change is not only in the ministries of Agriculture, Environment; we have contributions from ministries like Power, Petroleum and Gas among others
“We also have the President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) as a member of the National Council on Climate Change, so, the local government has a critical role to play to in tackling devastating effects of climate change
