Sen. President Lawan dares govs, cedes security powers to local govts

The President of the Senate of the Nigerian Ninth National Assembly, Ahmad Lawan, may have dared governors as he declared support for full local government autonomy, a constitutional issue that is in the residual list of the state governments.   The senate president at a formal opening of the 2021 Local Government Economics Summit in Abuja, reiterated his demand for full autonomy of local government councils in the country.  He was of the view that autonomy would empower the local governments address the several rural development crises in Nigeria.

Senate President Lawan, represented by Senator Ibrahim Danbaba, emphasized that the country could find it difficult to properly handle the diverse problems at the grassroots, except full autonomy is granted to local government councils. He noted that the full autonomy will empower the local government councils to tackle the challenges of armed robbery, kidnapping and banditry across the country.

The National President of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ambali Olatunji, joined Senate President Lawan in the advocacy for local government autonomy.

Olatunji was of the view that the collapse of local government administration in Nigeria is responsible for the current insecurity crisis.

He maintained that “until the 774 local governments in Nigeria are granted full administrative and financial autonomy, the country might have to contend with banditry, kidnapping and insurgency for a very long time.”

The theme for this year’s summit – “Local Government System: Resilience for Sustainable Development”.

President Muhammadu Buhari had signed an Executive Order mandating full autonomy to local governments in Nigeria. However, the Order is being resisted by state governors who argue that local government administration is within the jurisdiction of the state governments.