Kogi assembly grants another six-month extension for council administrators

Kogi State House of Assembly has granted approval for another six-month extension for the 21 local council administrations in the state.The House gave the approval at yesterday’s plenary, following the adoption of a letter by Governor Yahaya Bello.

In the letter dated March 28, which was read on the floor of the House by the Speaker, Matthew Kolawole, the governor said he was constrained by paucity of funds to make the request.

He said the current tenure of the administrators, as extended twice so far by the House, was in line with the applicable laws.He cited the Kogi State Local Government (Amendment) Law, 2008, which expired on March 31.

Bello requested the House to, in accordance and in line with Part VIII, Section 56(3) of the state Local Government (Amendment) Law, 2008, grant the extension from April 1, to September 30, 2018.

“It is therefore incumbent on the state assembly to keep the local government administration within the purview of the law by formally extending the tenure of the 21 Local Government Transition Committees in Kogi State”, he said.

He said: “The Kogi State government considers elections the preferred option to fill these positions, but the stark reality is that the administration remains constrained by some ancillary challenges.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director, Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution in Lokoja, Idris Miliki Abdul, has raised concern for local government autonomy.