The Supreme Court of Nigeria’s recent ruling on local government autonomy has sparked widespread reactions in Kwara State. The court’s decision grants full autonomy to local governments and mandates the Federal Government to cease allocations to local governments without democratically elected council officials.
In Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, there was jubilation among local government staff and residents. Lasisi A.K. Jimoh, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), described the judgment as long overdue. He stated, “If the constitution says the existence of a democratically elected local government is constitutionally guaranteed, then where do you have a caretaker and payments being channelled through state governments to local governments? The constitution also states that the local government is the third tier of government. Will one tier be under another tier, and is the state under the federal government? I expected the judgment to go a bit further to pronounce emphatically that there cannot be a caretaker committee under the constitution which we are operating now because a caretaker committee is not a local government.”
Babatunde Muhammed, Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, echoed similar sentiments, stating that the judgment was long expected. He criticized the current administration for not conducting local government elections for the past five years. “For the past five years, this is the first time in the history of the state that we have unelected council officials running the affairs of the 16 local governments in the state,” he remarked. Muhammed argued that the inability of local governments to receive their allocations directly from the federal government has hindered their development.
Reflecting on his own experience, Muhammed said, “I was opportune to contest and be elected as a councillor here in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State in 1990. Our election was handled by the National Electoral Commission, and our monthly allocations came directly from the federal government to the local governments. We spent three years during our tenure between 1991 to 1993, and local governments were able to embark on many laudable projects beneficial to the people at the grassroots.”
He praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Attorney General of the Federation for pursuing the matter to the Supreme Court, ensuring the realization of local government autonomy as anticipated by Nigerians.
Oyinlade Seun, Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Kwara State, expressed elation over the ruling. “We are overwhelmed as we declared fasting and prayers since Wednesday and Thursday on the autonomy issue. We are sure our governor will comply with the judgment to give true and pure autonomy to the local governments in the state to guarantee grassroots development,” he said. Oyinlade believes that with full autonomy, issues such as insecurity and food insecurity that hinder development at the local level will be significantly addressed.
