Confusion as Senate insists on full LG autonomy
10 October 2024 |
6:50 am
Amid confusion, yesterday, the Senate resolved to effect appropriate amendments in the Constitution to ensure full autonomy for local councils. It urged all states and local councils to immediately comply with the Supreme Court judgment
FG creating LGs an aberration, says Diri
Amid confusion, yesterday, the Senate resolved to effect appropriate amendments in the Constitution to ensure full autonomy for local councils. It urged all states and local councils to immediately comply with the Supreme Court judgment on local council financial autonomy.
However, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State faulted Nigeria’s brand of federalism, describing a situation where only the Federal Government could create local councils as an aberration.
Senator Tony Nwoye (LP, Anambra North) had, at the commencement of plenary, risen through orders 41 and 51 of the Senate Standing Rules, to move a motion on the alleged move by some state governments to circumvent the implementation of the judgment through counter laws from their respective Houses of Assembly.
Nwoye specifically alleged that some governors were already using their Houses of Assembly to enact laws that would mandate local councils in their states to remit monies into State/Local Government Joint Account, which was ruled against by the apex court.
But immediately after finishing with the presentation of his six prayers for enforcement of the judgment and seconded by Senator Osita Izunaso (APC, Imo West), Senator Adamu Aliero (PDP, Kebbi Central) raised a constitutional point of order for stoppage of debate on the motion.
Aliero cited Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution, which makes Supreme Court judgment enforceable across the country, to urge the Senate not to overflog the issue.
“Supreme Court judgment is enforceable across the country. There is no need for us to be debating anything that has to do with it here,” he said. Aligning with Aliero, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, threw spanner in the works by calling the attention of senators to Section 162(6) of the 1999 Constitution.
The section, according to Akpabio, created the State/Local Government Joint Account, which has to be amended to pave way for full implementation of the Supreme Court judgment.
But before taking a final decision on the motion, Nwoye hurriedly raised Order 42 of the Senate Standing Rules for personal explanation on the motion the same time Sen Abdulrahman Kawu (NNPP, Kano South) raised a similar point of order.
The simultaneous points of order brought confusion into the session, with many senators rushing to Akpabio for personal consultation, which eventually made the Senate go into an emergency closed-door session at 12.46 p.m.
GOVERNOR Diri also said Nigeria was on the wrong development path and needed to turn back. Delivering a lecture entitled ‘Rethinking Our Future: The Need For True Federalism and Economic Renaissance’ at the 64th Founders’ Day Lecture of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State, the Bayelsa governor averred that states should constitutionally have the right to create and legislate on local councils in a truly federal structure.
He reaffirmed his belief in the unity of Nigeria, which he said could only be sustained on the basis of equity, justice and fairness. Diri described federalism as a very touchy subject that concerns Nigeria’s corporate existence.
According to him, the fact that federalism has become a lexicon that reverberates across the socio-political landscape of Nigeria underscores the defective nature of the governance structure operational in the country, a situation that led to constant agitations.
The guest lecturer expressed concern that the misgivings of ethnic nationalities and minority interests about the inequities and disequilibrium that defined the political paradigm at the time of Independence in 1960 persisted and stressed the need for a paradigm shift where the dreams and aspirations of Nigerians would not be deferred perpetually.
The present governance structure in Nigeria, he added, cannot deliver the future the vast majority of Nigerians desire and deserve. He said, “For the avoidance of doubt, I wholeheartedly support the Nigerian state and its continuous unity and existence. However, I recognise that, like any nation, we strive for a more perfect union, where diversity is celebrated, equity ensured and opportunities accessible to all.
“Consequently, we must rethink our future and build a political culture where the promise of federalism is not a mere illusion of unity, but a powerful catalyst that drives our passion for success and unlocks untapped potential.”
Earlier, the Acting Vice Chancellor, UNN, Prof. Polycarp Chigbu, said the event was to celebrate the founding fathers of the institution led by the late Nnamdi Azikiwe, whose vision led to its establishment on October 7, 1960.
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