Politics

LG Autonomy is Unrealistic, Governors Control Local Governance – Ayo Fayose

Published by Tope Fakinlede on July 15th, 2024.

LG Autonomy is Unrealistic, Governors Control Local Governance – Ayo Fayose

Ayo Fayose

I am not a lawyer, but a politician and an elder statesman by the grace of God. I will be very factual and sincere about the matter. We are discussing the three arms of government: the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary.

While I firmly believe that no governor should take local government funds, it’s important to understand that you can’t separate the local government from the state government. No one can become a local government chairman without the governor’s support. Anyone claiming otherwise is misguided.

The State House of Assembly oversees and controls local government activities. When the house wants to make laws, it can suspend or override local governments. So, when discussing local government autonomy, it’s misleading to say they have full control over their finances.

When I was the Governor of Ekiti, I received funds from Abuja into the Joint Accounts Allocation Committee (JAAC) account. This account is managed by administrative personnel, not politicians or council chairmen. The only representative of the governor is the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs. The rest are local government workers, officials, and pensioners who manage the funds.

Claiming that local governments have been given power is inaccurate. Any local government chairman who thinks they can disrespect their governor because they control funds will be disciplined by the House of Assembly. You can’t become a council chairman without the governor’s backing.

Even if you’re from an opposing party, the House of Assembly still regulates your activities. Here’s something that needs investigation: if you visit local government offices from Monday to Friday, you won’t find even 10% of the staff present. They don’t come to work. My name is Ayo Fayose, and I challenge anyone to dispute this.

When you try to enforce attendance, the staff and their leaders come begging the governor. They might even threaten not to vote for you. This is how local governments operate. The state is more effective in administrative performance than the local governments. At the local level, everyone is just there to collect money, including people living in other states. So, what are we really talking about?