Chairman of the Kaduna North Local Government Council, Alhaji Mukhtar Boloni,
By EDDY OCHIGBO, Kaduna –
The Chairman of the Kaduna North Local Government Council, Alhaji Mukhtar Boloni, has reasoned that granting local government autonomy in the country would undoubtedly improve the workings and functionality local government administration in country.
Alhaji Boloni, therefore, advised stakeholders to approach the ongoing engagement and campaign for its actualization with tact to ensure its passage into law.
In an interview with NATIONAL ACCORD in Kaduna, Boloni revealed that he was cautiously optimistic that the local government autonomy bill would scale through because of the level and magnitude the process has assumed.
According to him: “Local government administrative autonomy is a double edged sword, because as much as the state government wants to allow the local governments to operate independently, there are implications. For instance, if the local government is unable to live up to expectations, especially in the area of internal controls, the entire process could become counterproductive. The issue of local government autonomy did not start today. It is has been in the works all this while. It requires a lot of political give-and-take and bargaining, because it is not everyone that is comfortable with it”.
He added: “Although the local government autonomy bill is significant and germane, for the bill to scale through, we must be tactical in considering the pros and cons, so that we do not throw away the baby with the bath water. As you know state houses of assembly are more or less the legislative houses of the local government and that is why we have to be mindful of our advocacy. The bill would be ground-breaking and if passed, I can assure you that it would become a game changer in the nation’s social-political journey. But like I said, as we engage, we must know that the bill is a double-edged sword, because certain quarters may work against it. So it is important for us as stakeholders to articulate our ideas and make them compelling”.
He summed up: “The focus should be on the premise of pinpointing the essence of how the bill can make our system better; on what is to done to make the local government areas more attractive to the citizenry; on how to make the hinterlands safer for rural dwellers and more importantly, on what would engender Infrastructure development at the local government level. I was vice chairman before I became chairman of Kaduna North and I know that local government being closer to people, needs to play greater role in the scheme of things, because if we have a vibrant local government, issues of insecurity and rural urban migration would be remarkably curtailed. I am pleased to let you know that in Kaduna state, we are already enjoying some form of financial autonomy”.
Meanwhile, in continuation of its engagement of critical stakeholders to lobby and influence the ratification of the bills transmitted to the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn (PERL), in a press conference appealed to the state legislators to pass a resolution in favor of the Local Government Financial and Administrative Autonomy, Financial Autonomy to State Legislatures and Judiciary, and Institutionalization of Legislative Bureaucracy.
Text of the press conference signed by Mr Yusuf Goje of the Coalition of Associations for Leadership, Peace, Development and Empowerment (CALPED), made available to NATIONAL ACCORD stated that:
“In order to avert the social disaster threatening to happen due to rising insecurity, unemployment and poverty, we need to stimulate rural economies to enable inclusive development and growth through strengthening local government systems, by way of granting local governments’ financial and administrative autonomy.
“Internal accountability is directly linked to improved fairness, equity and social justice as well as ensuring effective representation which will enable better developmental outcomes. The financial autonomy of the State Legislature and Judiciary is key to actualizing this.
“Similarly, the independence, efficiency and effectiveness of the Legislature directly affect the quality of law-making, medium term planning, budgeting and service delivery. To achieve this, the institutionalization of Legislative Bureaucracy will strengthen the capacity of legislators to carry out their core function”
According to Goje, recent bills passed are currently awaiting transmission to the 36 State Houses of Assembly, which requires the resolution of at least 2/3 of the Assemblies.
He revealed that all the bills are important towards the sustenance of our democracy and improvement service delivery, pointing out all the stakeholders believe that if these bills get the resolution of the Kaduna State House of Assembly it would not only strengthen and allow the state legislators to effectively represent their constituents which will increase their popularity, political value and electability in subsequent elections, it would also increase the quality of service delivery thereby improving the living standards of their constituents.
The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kaduna State University, Dr Peter Adamu, a strong supporter of the local government autonomy bill, believes that the country would be better off when the bill is passed into law because, “it would definitely strengthen and empower local government administrators to effectively carry out their mandate”.
