• Accuses govs of misappropriating council funds
The Senate has accused state governors of misappropriating funds meant for councils.
Adopting a motion sponsored by Senator Suleiman AbdulRahman Kawu (NNPP, Kano State), the Senate also canvassed the conduct of all council elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Senate called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently initiate a national discussion with relevant stakeholders that would culminate in removing local councils from the shackles of state governments.
Contributing to the debate on the motion, Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau, who presided over yesterday’s plenary session, lamented that the conduct of council elections had lost credibility.
He noted that unlike the early days of democracy when council elections were conducted in a free and fair manner, there was no longer respect for such elections because of immense irregularities and abuses.
On the abuse of council funds, Barau lamented that “some governors are misappropriating LG funds.”
He said: “During the military rule and early part of the Fourth Republic, council areas were having their autonomy and there was full sense of security prevailing there. The economies of all these council were booming. Rural-urban migration was very low. Even councillors were awarding contracts; the money was there and they were doing very well. Even some councils were doing very well because they had their internally generated revenue.”
Agreeing with prayers of the motion, Jibrin said: “As it is being said, the President is a true, progressive democrat. He believes in the autonomy of councils. But in this process, he will only lead, then we in the National Assembly will follow and then he will convince the governors.
The Senate also called for the allocation of funds to caretaker committee-led councils to be halted.
The upper legislative chamber equally urged Tinubu to “champion the cause of full autonomy for local governments in our nation” adding: “The challenges we face in the forms of persistent security threats, rural-urban migration, decaying infrastructure, and widespread unemployment demand bold action.”
On the need for a national discussion on autonomy for councils, the Senate said it believed that “convening a national dialogue involving governors, state legislators, council officials, civil society organisations, and community leaders to discuss the roadmap towards achieving full councils autonomy would be useful in solving the country’s teething problems.
