Town Hall Meeting Calls for LG Autonomy

Participants at a town hall meeting of the 24 communities composing Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti state have stridently called for autonomy of the LGs to enable them respond to the yearnings of the people at the grassroots. The gathering observed that autonomy would en- sure that the Local Governments are strong enough financially to work for the people. They also called for a more responsive leadership that would be in synch with the interest of the people.

While condemning the present practice of locating projects without their inputs, they want political leaders to be forthright and deliver meaningful development projects with the people’s consent. They are not particularly happy that the LGs have been subverted by governors who dictate not just who is elected chairman but what the LGs do with their funds. “The LGs are in shreds because they are now in the pockets of governors”, they maintained.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives had in their amendment to the 1999 Constitution, endorsed LG autonomy and its direct funding as part of the process of strengthen- ing the third tier of government but the powerful lobby of the governors, who had been accused of fiddling with LG funds ensured that their respective houses of assembly voted down the amendment.

(See concluding part on www. thisdaylive.com)