The Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has voiced strong opposition to the concept of absolute autonomy for the 774 local government areas across Nigeria, describing it as a pathway to “monstrous chaos.”
   
His remarks came shortly after he signed the Local Government Administration Law in Awka, the state capital, yesterday. According to him, Section 7 of the Constitution makes it relevant for enacting of the enabling laws for the administration of the respective local government areas across the country.
   
“This is where Section 7 of the Constitution comes in handy, and the Anambra State House of Assembly has risen to the occasion. Happily, the Supreme Court did not nullify Section 7 of the Constitution. The new laws by the Anambra House of Assembly are therefore consequential to give operational life to the Supreme Court judgment and not to undermine it.
   
“If the State House of Assembly abdicates this constitutional duty, the Local Government will then have no law on the use and management of its finance which the Constitution has given the State House of Assembly the mandate to legislate on. Indeed, in many states, the House of Assemblies retain the power to suspend or remove chairpersons of local governments.
 
 The governor said that many states are encountering a shortage of funds to run the local government system, but added, “Without active collaboration and coordination between state and local governments, many LGs will end up in a huge financial mess”, as he queried, “Will FGN directly intervene in every case of insolvency among the 774 LGs?
   
“Governors are often accused of seeking to ‘control’ LG funds with insinuations that LG funds are mismanaged”, he noted, as he listed some of the challenges inherited by his administration including four-year arrears (2018-2022) of gratuity to retired primary school teachers and other staff of local government.
   
Other problems are three years’ arrears on counterpart funding for the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), although cleared, creating room to invest billions of Naira in our primary schools recently.
   
Soludo emphasised that the complexities surrounding local government autonomy could exacerbate existing challenges, undermining the intended benefits for communities.