LG financial autonomy: Abide by Supreme Court judgement – Kogi CNPP to Gov Ododo

The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has urged Kogi State Governor Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo to abide by the Supreme Court judgement granting financial autonomy to 774 local governments across the Federation.

The Kogi State Chairman of CNPP, Mohammed Kabir Abdullahi, in a statement on Friday, described the judgment of the Supreme Court as a welcome development and long overdue.

Abdullahi disclosed that the local government is an important tier of government which needs rapid development, adding that over the years, they have been at the mercy of the governors across the 36 states.

He argued that the verdict of the Supreme Court signifies victory for democracy, stressing that the judiciary has further proven that they are the last hope of the common man on the street.

The Kogi State CNPP Chairman described Governor Ododo as a democrat who believes in the rule of law, adding that he is optimistic that the governor will not contravene the judgement.

“The recent judgment of the Supreme Court granting financial autonomy to 774 local governments in Nigeria is highly commendable. This is what I will call freedom at last. Over the years, the local governments in Nigeria have been in shambles.

“There is a high level of poverty rate, decayed infrastructure, and underdevelopment across the board. This judgement will not only free up funds for local government areas, it will also promote accountability and good governance.

“We need to promote transparency in the utilisation of public resources at all levels to be able to lift the burden of the common man. It is on this note, CNPP is appealing to the Kogi State Governor to respect the judgement of the Supreme Court.

“He is a beneficiary of the judiciary recently when he won his case at the Court of Appeal, which upheld his election as the duly elected governor of Kogi State. While CNPP congratulates him on his appeal court victory, we are calling on him to do the needful for the prosperity and future of our dear state,” he noted.

He tasked the Governor to, as a matter of urgency, conduct local government elections to enable Kogites to decide who will lead them at the grassroots.

“The Kogi State Government should come up with quick modalities to conduct local government elections. According to the verdict of the Supreme Court, Caretaker Committee Chairmen are illegal and against the democratic setting of Nigeria.

“I am also using this medium to thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for supporting this cause, which Nigerians have been yearning for. With what is on the ground, Nigerians should be expecting the best of governance at the grassroots.”

In a landmark judgement on Thursday, the apex court ordered the Federal Government to immediately start the direct payment of local government funds to the latter’s exclusive accounts.

In its lead judgement read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court scolded the decades-long refusal of the state government on financial autonomy for local governments.

Justice Agim noted that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves. He said only democratically elected local government administrations are entitled to these funds and not caretaker committees.