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Governor of Kwara State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman, has said that the forum welcomed the ruling of the Supreme Court granting autonomy to local government areas.
He spoke at the State House in Abuja on Friday in the company of his Bauchi and Imo State counterparts Bala Mohammed and Hope Uzodimma respectively.
Recall the Supreme Court declared on Thursday that it is unconstitutional for state governors to hold funds allocated for local government administrations.
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The seven-man panel, in the judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, declared that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves.
The apex court held that the power of the government is portioned into three arms of government, the federal, the state and the local government.
The court further declared that a state government has no power to appoint a caretaker committee and a local government council is only recognisable with a democratically elected government.
The court stated that it is the local government that should receive and manage funds meant for local government.
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Reacting on Friday, Abdulrazaq said; “We welcome the ruling of the Supreme Court. Compliance is a given and our attorney generals have applied for the enrollment order which we’ll study carefully. But by and large, governors are happy with the devolution of power with respect to local government autonomy,” the governor said.
“It relieves the burden on governors. Our people really don’t know how much states expend in bailing out local governments, and that’s the issue there.”
Governor Abdul Razak said the Nigeria Governors’ Forum will meet next Wednesday to come up with a resolution about the matter. He said contrary to speculations, governors have “never tampered with local government funds”.
“It’s not going to affect the states,” the NGF chief said, and believes that with the autonomy granted to local governments, the third tier of government can better manage their affairs.
The Kwara governor also spoke about President Bola Tinubu’s meeting with labour leaders on the new minimum wage.
“As you’re aware the tripartite committee has met and submitted its report. Yes, a movement of figures is the prerogative of the president which he will also transmit to the National Assembly for robust debate before it’s adopted,” the governor said.
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