With the increasing clamour for autonomy by the third tier of government, Group Politics Editor, Taiwo Adisa, X-rays the stumbling blocks against local government administration across the country.Between 2001 and 2002 there were frenzied activities within the Southern Governors' Forum (SGF), which was making waves then. The governors kick-started a series of meetings which were hosted from state to state. One of the main issues on the banner then was the conduct of local government elections. The Federal Government was also interested. President Olusegun Obasanjo especially was worried that his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could be worsted in the South-West if the governors went ahead to conduct council polls in 2002. The belief in the PDP then was that if the results of council elections in the South West showed a further consolidation of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the ruling party in the zone then, that could be demoralising to Obasanjo's second term bid. Some political thinkers then had reasoned that going by the rapprochement between Obasanjo and the leadership of the AD, a sort of agreement could be reached across the country whereby council polls are deferred till after the general elections of 2003.The debate became heated at some of the meetings and there was tension on whether the council polls would hold or not. At one of the meetings held at the Government House, Akure, Ondo state, one instructive incident happened. While the governors were speaking one after the other, with some insisting that since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was not ready with a review of voters' register, the elections should be put off. Two South-South governors, according to one of the governors who confided in The Friday Edition were particularly vociferous in their insistence that the elections should go on as planned since the tenure of the councils in almost all the states would lapse. The first session of the meeting ended in a stalemate as the governors were divided on whether the elections should go ahead or not.Then it was time for lunch. On the lunch table, a curious South-West governor wanted to know why his two colleagues were the loudest voices in the call for council polls. He asked one of them seated by him why he was insisting at the meeting that council polls could hold even when logistics were not being provided by INEC. The former governor was shocked by the response. The South-South governor told the inquisitive colleague from the South-West that it didn't matter when elections were held and that the result mattered. He stated that as they were seated, he could produce the result of all council polls from his pocket.The former governor was quoted as saying: 'Your Excellency, why are you worried about results. Even if the election holds tomorrow, I have the results of all the councils in my pockets. Whoever we declare as the winner is the winner!'The shocked former South-West governor turned away in bewilderment, apparently lost as to the level of sophisticated rigging his colleague was painting. But overtime, that has become the order of the day as far as council elections are concerned. What was painted by the governor in 2002 has now become the order of the day as governors across the country have seen the loophole in the constitutional provisions, which placed local governments under the control of the state House of Assembly, which is always under the direct control of the governors.From 2002, the travails of local governments have been going from bad to worse such that many have written off the local governments as an arm of government. Besides the operation of the States/Local Government Joint Accounts, the approval of the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) by the 1999 Constitution also combine to worsen the situation of the local governments. The state Houses of Assembly were to come up with the first huddle for the councils in this era, when the state.sd capitalising on the provisions of Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution to make different laws for the operations of the councils in the states. While the local government reforms of 1976 and the reforms of Ibrahim Babangida years ensured the independence of the councils and a three-year tenure for the council chairmen, something Nigerians were already used to, many state Houses of Assembly made laws abridging the tenure to two years and also inserted clauses that would allow the dissolution of council executives and their replacement with caretaker committees.Just as the councils were grappling with that, coupled with the practical financial strangulation, especially as they had to go cap in hand to the Ministries of Local Government Affairs for their funds, the state chief executives developed further inroads, which made the councils nothing but a department in the governor's office. Right now, what was postulated by the unnamed South-South governor at the meeting of Southern Governors' Forum in 2002 has become the order of the day. The results of local government elections are safe in the pockets of the governors well before the conduct of the elections proper.A glimpse of the true situation was said to have played out in Lagos, during the just concluded local government election. Even in the abode of the acclaimed progressive politicians, election results were said to have been upturned and losers declared winners in the most unlikely places. The trend is fast becoming ridiculous that only the governor's party wins local government elections. Even the strongholds of opposition during the general elections easily fall for the state chief executives as far as the SIEC is in control.In August, the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) published what appeared the report card of the states as far as management of the councils are concerned. Out of 36 states only six at the time had democratically elected executives in the local governments. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) which is controlled by the Federal Government has, however, been constant with council elections.In a recent interview with select newspapers, Rivers State governor, who is also the chairman of the Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF), Chief Rotimi Amaechi, admitted that the criticisms of undemocratic takeover of local governments by the governors was a thing of concern. He said that the NGF had discussed the matter and that they had resolved to conduct elections into the councils.'At the Governors Forum we have resolved that in the next few months governors who have not conducted local government council elections should endeavour to do that and all governors are very willing to conduct elections. Lagos has just finished their own. Niger finished their own,' Amaechi said, while refusing to be dragged into the question why the ruling party always wins all council seats.When asked why the governors have been clearing everything (every council seat), Amaechi said: 'I don't know about clearing everything. Don't get me involved in electoral matters! But I know that the elections were democratic and people were elected. Other states have taken the same position to conduct council elections, so, be rest assured that the Governors' Forum is working with its members to conduct elections in the councils.'He also confirmed the decision of the NGF to work with the Presidency to fashion amendments to the revenue sharing formula. 'We are working with the president in that regard. Currently what we have done is that we are pursuing constitution amendment. The governors are meeting in that regard, we have met up to some point. I remember some journalists accosted me and asked what was the outcome of the meeting and I said it was inconclusive. We are bound to hold a second meeting and by next week or thereabout we should hold a second meeting to conclude on all the issues and send a bill, a private members' bill on the amendment of the constitution to the National Assembly.'Right now, the constitution amendment issue is the crux of the matter. Two meetings said to have been held between the president and the NGF could not present a common ground on the key issue of local government autonomy. While President Goodluck Jonathan is said to be planning to include clauses that would ensure local government autonomy in the planned constitution amendment bill to be sent to the National Assembly by the executive, the governors are said to be unenthusiastic about that. Sources said that the constitution amendment bill being planned by the governors dwell basically on revenue formula. Sources said that the governors are demanding a 42 per cent share of the Federation's revenue for the states, 35 for the Federal Government and 20 for the local governments. The governors were said to have projected that three per cent would be for special funds, which would include ecological fund.It was learnt that while the governors are not enthusiastic about the reforms in the local governments, the federal authorities are insisting that the only way they would back the call for devolution of powers and agree to allocate more funds to the states can only be feasible if the councils regain their freedom.Said a source in the know: As things are right now, the 20 per cent revenue that the constitution allocates to the local governments largely end up in the pockets of the governors or their cronies who are handpicked as council chairmen either through the creation of caretaker committees or sham elections by the SIECs. If the governors would allow free councils then more funds could go to the states. Because as we speak, the governors are actually superintending over 46 per cent of the nation's revenue. Officially they supervise 26 but the 20 per cent council funds, just like councils' election results are in their pockets.'It has come into the open that the desired freedom for the councils has been the fear in the governors' camps about the management of council funds. For instance, it would be easier for the Commissioner for Local Governments to agree with council chairmen from the ruling party on the sharing formula for council funds in the States/Local government joint account than having to contend with opposition parties. Under that guise, the governors brook no opposition at all. Sources said that the situation of Lagos has even become more deplorable because the state has continued to run a 57 local government structure against the 20 originally approved in the constitution. The problem could become compounded if the opposition party is allowed to win any local government as the sharing formula could become public, it was learnt. The same thinking runs through the states and the councils are worse off for it.Will the federal authorities pull through a safety garb for the councils through the planned constitution amendment' Will it be business as usual' Will the all powerful governors thwart the bid to free the councils and ensure meaningful governance at the local governments' Or are we about to witness the sort of comedy that further tied the state Houses of Assembly to the apron of the governors after the state lawmakers rejected the autonomy bid through the 2010 Constitution amendment' The battle is expected to be fierce as the strings are pulled, but only the prevalence of reason will bring true democracy to the grass roots.
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