Rexyl:
I think the autonomy has been endorsed by the legislators. No more State's diversion of the Local Government funds thereby incapacitating the council areas from embarking on meaningful development.

No sir, it is a constitutional amendment, 2/3 of state assemblies must endorse it before it becomes law.

CFCfan:

When I clamor for LG autonomy, I don't mean the FG should take over the administration of the LGs. I agree with you that States should have d power to create local government areas, and regulate the tenure of the Chairmen and Councillors.
However, the constitution should totally bar the governors from illegally removing the chairmen. The Chairmen should only be removed via impeachment or recall from the residents of the particular LGA.

The SIECs should also have "first line-charge" status, which guarantees their funding independent of the governors' whims.

I agree with you that the governor should not have the power to fire elected LG operatives at will, but the people should take that power themselves by ensuring relevant laws are enacted at the state level not call on big brother Abuja to do it for us.

It will take time but the learning experience and ownership of the process is worth more than the results.

Ovamboland:


You are still missing the point that the current one size fits all approach for LG administration is doomed to failure as we currently have. If we need to re-invent our own wheel so be it as the experience becomes our own and not that of another people. The truth is all over the country we have different cultural values and aspirations and different ways we engage with leadership. Why should we be forced to be the same even in the manner of local administration, even the colonial system could not use same system in both Northern and Southern protectorate successfully

What of the learning process of which the society has little or none in designing and setting up a democratic system. If we hinge our lives in never being original and only copying whole sale from here and there our democratic development will remain stunted.

It is very clear that after the financial autonomy is granted by Abuja, the next thing they would need will be political autonomy from Abuja then supervisory autonomy and oversight autonomy and naturally the legislators will have a new ally in any contention with state governments, i guess that is clear. Sincere National assembly will not attempt to play big brother and make laws to allow genuine ownership by local politicians and citizens.

The current proposed financial autonomy is a project owned by the National assembly not the people. It becomes owned by the people when they agitate and strategies for at the state level if they are truly interested in it. The strategy includes ensuring the state legislator representing them believes in the agenda of his locality.

^^^
I guess we can agree to disagree.

I am concerned with how to proceed with the structures we have 'on ground' as at today, 26 October 2014. I firmly believe we do not need to reinvent the wheel, despite the flaws in our system.

My biggest issue is how your suggestions will work in practice. Delist LGs and then what? How long will it take for your suggestions to bear fruit? How will the system run while communities and other groups figure out what they want to do?

There is nothing that says your recommendation for 'home grown' local administration and the lawmakers proposal are mutually exclusive. They are not. The reality is that the current arrangement is NOT working. The lawmakers proposal is a step in the right direction.

NairaMode:


Tell your father and mother and entire family to STFU.
When you do not respect peoples right to express themselves then you are an animal.
When you do not know how to pass across a message without being insolent or condescending then you are almost insan*e.
Where is your decorum you this immature pig.
Your DP actually depicts how "infant" your mindset and reasoning capability is.

Word of advice:
You don't have to act like an animal or force your opinion on others. It paints you as someone with neurotic disorder.
Teach, criticize and pass across knowledge such that people will learn from you.

How was your night?

puke!!!

VolvoS60:


^^^
I guess we can agree to disagree.

I am concerned with how to proceed with the structures we have 'on ground' as at today, 26 October 2014. I firmly believe we do not need to reinvent the wheel, despite the flaws in our system.

My biggest issue is how your suggestions will work in practice. Delist LGs and then what? How long will it take for your suggestions to bear fruit? How will the system run while communities and other groups figure out what they want to do?

There is nothing that says your recommendation for 'home grown' local administration and the lawmakers proposal are mutually exclusive. They are not. The reality is that the current arrangement is NOT working. The lawmakers proposal is a step in the right direction.

Dear sir, quick fixes hardly produce well-thought out, enduring results. If we have not experienced sudden death because of the current arrangement, the time to build a foundation of deep democratic ethos is nothing compared to the complacency that will result once big brother Abuja speaks on the matter.
Delist does not equal cancel all the local governments, they will still exist, then it is left for the citizens, state legislature, executive and judiciary to supervise breaking them down to smaller units or merging them into bigger units, citizens should be smart enough to do that without big brother's directives.
I agree the objectives might not be mutually exclusive but the means and vehicle you advocate to achieve it is what i have issues with. What is so difficult in the National Assembly standing up for once for true Federalism as we have named ourselves and tell the people to approach their state government for local government reforms? Even for creation of a new state, you see the advocates only when they go to Abuja, you hardly see them doing anything to sensitize or mobilize anybody in the area they want to be a new state, that needs to stop.

Before you know it candidates for governorship and house of assembly will have real issues to campaign with i.e. support or otherwise for local government autonomy if the people truly desire it. Why do we as blacks find it difficult to advocate for process rather than have someone or a body dictate how we should run our lives, do we agree we are so docile that only a dictatorship or oligarchy is good for us?

Ovamboland:


Dear sir, quick fixes hardly produce well-thought out, enduring results. If we have not experienced sudden death because of the current arrangement, the time to build a foundation of deep democratic ethos is nothing compared to the complacency that will result once big brother Abuja speaks on the matter.

^^^^


I hope no one who reads this likens me in any way to the tortoise in folklore who fell into the cesspit...

Ovamboland:


Dear sir, quick fixes hardly produce well-thought out, enduring results. If we have not experienced sudden death because of the current arrangement, the time to build a foundation of deep democratic ethos is nothing compared to the complacency that will result once big brother Abuja speaks on the matter.
Delist does not equal cancel all the local governments, they will still exist, then[b] it is left for the citizens, state legislature, executive and judiciary to supervise breaking them down to smaller units or merging them into bigger units, citizens should be smart enough to do that without big brother's directives.[/b]
I agree the objectives might not be mutually exclusive but the means and vehicle you advocate to achieve it is what i have issues with. What is so difficult in the National Assembly standing up for once for true Federalism as we have named ourselves and tell the people to approach their state government for local government reforms? Even for creation of a new state, you see the advocates only when they go to Abuja, you hardly see them doing anything to sensitize or mobilize anybody in the area they want to be a new state, that needs to stop.

Before you know it candidates for governorship and house of assembly will have real issues to campaign with i.e. support or otherwise for local government autonomy if the people truly desire it. Why do we as blacks find it difficult to advocate for process rather than have someone or a body dictate how we should run our lives, do we agree we are so docile that only a dictatorship or oligarchy is good for us?

^^^^
Well thought out post. You have made some solid points.

But again, the biggest problem I have with your ideas is the 'how', not the 'why'.

Take another look at the bolded part of your post sir. As things stand today, 26 october 2014, the governors call the shots in their respective states and have effectively pocketed the entire apparatus of local government without exception. They hold both the knife and the yam. Do you agree that the current arrangement (in which state governments have forcibly emasculated LGs) is a mockery of true federalism? If you do, then how can you oppose remedial measures simply because they are coming from the rogues gallery called the national assembly?

Once again, how will your ideas work in practice, starting today? The devil sir, lies in the details. Your suggestion reminds me of how the proponents of a sovereign national conference have failed to actualize their goal in Nigeria. Laudable idea, but one of the biggest problems they faced was how to sideline duly elected legislators in favor of unelected 'national conference representatives' - so called representatives who were angling for sweeping powers to determine the future of over 160 million people. Are you surprised the idea of a sovereign national conference failed to gain traction?

You appear to have glossed over the devilish details of how voters in each state will challenge governors today in wresting control of the machinery of local government. Do you think state governors in any state in Nigeria today will stand back and watch voters whittle down their powers (in the name of reforms) without subverting or sabotaging the process? Do you really think so?

In a perfect world, your ideas would fly. In the imperfect system we run here, they are not likely to take root. Yes, you may be right - the motives of the national assembly men who passed this bill may be far from noble/altruistic, but Nigerian voters need all the help they can get from any quarters. Financial autonomy for LGs is a net positive for the system. We can build on that going forward.

THE EFFECT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION ON GRASS ROOT DEVELOPMENT IN ANAMBRA STATE PRODUCTIVITY
http://www.bravoprojecthelp.com/public-administration/the-effect-of-local-government-administration-on-grass-root-development-in-anambra-state-productivity/

Local Government Autonomy And Grass Root Development (A Case Of Nsukka Local Government Of Enugu State)

The struggle for Local Government Autonomy in Nigeria has been a recurring issue. It is as old as the history of Nigeria colonial state. Local government Administration practiced anywhere in the world is largely dependent on the historical, geographical, political and economic life of the citizens...

http://www.scharticles.com/local-government-autonomy-and-grass-root-development/