ALGON backs national confab, to send delegates
The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has said that it is fully in support of the proposed national conference to discuss some burning national issues.
Rising from its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday night, the association also said it was ready to send representatives who would protect its interest at the confab.
Reading a communique at the end of the NEC meeting, ALGON president, Ozo Nwabueze Okafor, said the national confab would provide them the opportunity to address some issues pertaining local government administration in the country.
“We are of the opinion that the national conference provides a window of opportunity for us to bring to the fore once again; for us to ensure that the issues and challenges local governments have been facing over the years are brought back to the national conversation.
“In the past, we have tried to explore opportunities provided by the ongoing constitutional review process. We observed that the process has been stalled, so we intend to fully explore the opportunities provided by this conference. We want to identify with it, and we are going to send representatives to represent the local government system as provided in the framework and invitation extended to ALGON. Our representatives will act and contribute with special interest on the issues of local governments.
“It is our firm belief and hope that at the end of the conference, the position of the local government system we should have in Nigeria will be one that ensures that the structures we have at that level of governance and most importantly that the right of the people to determine who represents them is restored to them by having regular free, fair and transparent elections to ensure that we have democratic structures in place in all the local councils in Nigeria,” he said.
According to the ALGON president, the association also threw its weight behind the national confab as it would provide another platform for Nigeria “as a country to address some of the challenges we have had over the years and ensure that we retain our diversity.”