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Local government autonomy bill passes second reading at House of Reps

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4 years ago

February 6, 2020

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The local government autonomy bill on Thursday passed second reading at the House of Representatives as federal lawmakers expressed determination to give the third tier of government its much needed autonomy.

The bill, which seeks to amend the 1999 constitution, was passed through second reading by the House.

Recall that the bill was passed by the National assembly in the 8th assembly; however, the States Houses of Assembly rejected the bill.

It has now been sponsored again by Munir Soro and it was referred to the committee on constitution chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase.

Leading the debate on the bill, Soro said that “The FG through Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has empowered local government with over N7trillion in statutory allocations between 2015 to 2019. Regrettably, despite this staggering amount many communities in Nigeria are without water, many communities are without government ties.”

He also blamed the collapse of the local government for Boko Haram, Kidnapping and banditry.

Speaking on the bill, the Deputy Speaker, Wase who presided over plenary said that one single brush should not be used against all governors. That not “all governors withdraw allocation of local governments.”