How constitutional constraints hamstrung councillors’ role in LGAs

The fact that councillors continue to be superfluous in the scheme of things at the local government councils could be traced to the ambiguities in Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution. In these circumstances, lawmakers in most state legislatures exploit the situation to undermine the constitutionally assigned roles of the councillors in the third tier of governance. SEYE OLUMIDE reports how the 8809 councillors across 774 councils merely earn salaries from tax-payers money without commensurate services.

The seeming irrelevance of the estimated 8809 councillors spread across the 774 Local Governments in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, has continued as a sore point in the much talked about Local Government autonomy in Nigeria.

Several efforts have been made in the recent past to address the issues and challenges thwarting the Local Government system in Nigeria. However, one critical aspect, which has not received adequate attention as yet, is what should be the constitutional roles of the councillors, who ordinarily should serve the legislative roles for the councils.

By virtue of their official job description, the primary responsibilities of councillors include, making of by-laws that govern their local government areas, ensuring that the stipulations align with the state and federal laws, legislating on the budget of the councils with the power to participate in budget preparation, approval, and appropriation, ensuring that funds are allocated efficiently.

They are also expected to carry out oversight and accountability functions by monitoring the activities of the local government, ensuring that policies are implemented and that the executive arm, which revolves around the chairman’s office, is accountable.

It is also incumbent on councillors to represent the interests of their constituents by providing a link between the people and the local government, as well as facilitate community development projects. In this regard, they are to work with stakeholders to identify needs and implement solutions, among others.

But, while their roles are defined, not much has been seen about the activities of the councillors, at least in the recent past. This development has therefore raised serious concerns among Nigerians, who expect more. Consequently, questions are being asked as to why enormous taxpayers’ money should continue to be used to reward the idle councillors as salaries and other emoluments for doing nothing.

Further, at issue also are questions regarding whether the legislative role now reside with council chairmen, who are seen to be undermining the councillors. Nigerians have witnessed with subdued pain how state governors across the federation have been undermining the powers and autonomy of the State Assembly.

Based on this anomalous situation, on several occasions the impression has been created that councillors are mere political ball-boys of their local government chairmen. They are seen as living toys that stroll to council headquarters just to collect their salaries or partake in political mobilization for the party or the governor through the council chairmen.

Also, contrary to their assigned responsibilities, not much has been heard or either reported about the activities of councillors in any part of the country. They hardly interrogate the budgets of the local governments, nor interface with the chairmen for critical evaluation of expenditures in line with their oversight functions.

For instance, in Lagos State, the State Assembly wields enormous powers over the councils. Given this overbearing influence on the councils, the state legislature can and usually summon the council chairmen without recourse to their counterparts at that level of government.

Investigations have proved that the situation also obtainable in other states, where incumbent governors can unilaterally sack elected officers including councillors by proxy through the enabling laws quickly manufactured in the State Assemblies.

One of the challenges confronting the councillors is that instead of being allowed to play their roles, they are reduced to serving as grass roots vote canvassers and influence peddlers by ruling parties at various states during elections.

Currently, Nigeria has about 8,809 wards represented by councillors across the 774 local governments. The framers of the country’s grundnorm expected these representatives to bring government nearer to the citizens at the grassroots.

Another puzzle is how despite the fact that the remuneration of the councillors across the state are not uniform, billions of taxpayers money are expended on them as monthly stipends without any key performance indicators. Discreet checks revealed that in Lagos State an average councilor earns between N350, 000 to N414,000, depending on the financial strength and volume of the Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) available to the council.

In Oyo State, not long-ago Governor Seyi Makinde increased the remunerations of the councillors to the tune of N350,000 in 2022. But sources explained that what councillors earn in other states seems to be lesser and dependent on the economic buoyancy of the state.

One of the councillors, who did not want his name in print, said the salaries even vary in Lagos. He disclosed that councillors in Apapa, Lagos Island, Mushin and a few others, earn more than those in Ikorodu and other council areas. One of the reasons he adduced for the uneven pay is that some councils like Ikorodu have more Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) than the others. “Therefore, the allocations coming to such councils are smaller. But, even at that, some states do not reckon with councillors at all,” he noted.

All though states like Rivers and Delta, which are oil producing states, pay councillors more, the councillors are not known to be exceptional outside indolence.

Then, there is the issue of capacity and recruitment method. Most councillors are recruited as reward for being loyal henchmen of big politicians or based on their ability to influence the direction of votes at the grassroots. The lack of transparent elections dispose the handpicking of the councillors, who end up as slaves to their masters’ whim.

Suspended Judicial Intervention
While the 2024 Supreme Court judgment granted financial autonomy to the councils, consecutive local government elections held in various states thereafter leaves room for doubt that the intervention has proved salutary. The situation persists.

The ruling party and incumbent governors continue to call shots thereby sustaining the status quo by allocating winning ballots to their handpicked candidates during both the council and ward councils’ polls.

Given this situation, whereby state governors and the ruling parties dictate who becomes what, elected officers at local government regard themselves as recipients of the governors’ benevolence. Consequently, they do all in their powers to try not to offend or upend the political interest of their sponsors.

Similarly, some political godfathers are allocated councillorship slots to service political structures, just as the stakeholders put forward stooges that will do nothing but serve as conduits to receive and pass on funds that flow as salaries or sundry allowances.

Flowing from the foregoing, it has been discovered that the greatest impediment to the activities of councillors could be located at Section 7 part 1 and 6b of the 1999 Constitution. This stipulation empowers the state through the State Assembly to ensure the ‘existence’ of the councils. That is to say, that the councils exist at the whim of the state legislature.

It states: “The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this Constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the Government of every State shall, subject to section 8 of this Constitution, ensure their existence under a Law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils.

“The House of Assembly of a State shall make provisions for statutory allocation of public revenue to local government councils within the state.”

Reacting to this tricky pronouncement, incumbent Chairman of Oluyole Local Government in Oyo State, Akeem Olatunji, declared that unless section 7 of the 1999 Constitution is amended, the expected roles of councillors in the local governments may be difficult to achieve.

Whereas he said there was a smooth relationship between the State Assembly and the councils in Oyo State, Olatunji maintained that the overbearing influence of the State Assembly on the councils is impeding the councillors functions except collecting monthly salaries.

He said a council chairman will prefer to defer to the House Committee on Local Government than to his/her councillors, when it comes to scrutinizing the budget since according to him, the constitution made it so.

Explaining further, a chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, Fouad Oki, said no significant role can be played by the councillors except and until the 1999 Constitution is amended.

He explained that the aspect of the constitution, especially part 6 b of section 7 gave the State Assembly supervising powers over the councils and councillors, noting that this even include the oversight functions, which the state lawmakers undertake.

Recall that in October last year, the Lagos State House of Assembly indefinitely suspended the Chairman of Alimosho Local Government Area, Jelili Sulaimon. There was no doubt that disciplinary action was in clear breach of the separation of power among the tier of governments- the Federal, State and Local Governments.

The Assembly, while directing the embattled chairman to be clear about what the constitution says, cited section 7 of the Constitution. Nonetheless, observers believe that the process of suspending a council chairman should have been through the councillors, who are members of the legislative arm of the Local Government.

Oki added that lawmakers at the state level hardly reckon with councillors as their equivalents at the Local Government level. “Otherwise, the State Assembly can as well summon the councillors just as they could the council chairman,” he added.

He said the autonomy, which is being projected for the council must be holistic and must be through a thorough constitutional amendment, rather than in piecemeal.

Erstwhile Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government in Ogun State, Wale Adedayo, agreed that though the challenges confronting councillors in the discharge of their duties could be because of the lacuna in Section 7 of the constitution.

He stated: “To say in a blanket that the councillors are doing nothing or have no relevance is not totally correct. No council chairman can spend a budget without the contributions of the councillors.”

According to the former council boss, “to a considerable extent, the councillors play their constitutional roles in some instances despite the fact that many of them may be stooges of some political godfathers in the state.”

A former State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Capt. Tunji Shelle (rtd), posited that the ambiguities of the 1999 Constitution has muted the voices of councillors and turning them into mere figureheads, same way most governors have emasculated State Assemblies and their lawmakers.

He noted that one of the factors causing this pertains to the excessive loyalty demanded of councillors by council chairmen, party leaders among others, noting that this has led to an unhealthy concentration of power.

According to him, “councillors who are supposed to be part of the democratic process have been reduced to mere spectators in the decision-making process. The leader of the house, who is supposed to provide guidance and direction, is now forced to pledge allegiance to the council chairman in order to remain relevant. This sorry state of affairs is a testament to the incompetence that has filtrated the system.”

Shelle also flayed the qualification and academic standard of the so-called councillors, saying that that has been one of the significant contributors to the problems of councillors.

He condemned the attitudes of governors and party leaders who impose candidates on the councils, stressing that that have made people to lose sight of the relevant position the constitution reserved in the office of councillors.