National Telescope national telescope newspaper
Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has voiced concerns about the recent Supreme Court judgment that grants local governments direct access to monthly allocations from the federation account.
Despite the court’s ruling, Fayose believes that state governors and Houses of Assembly will continue to hinder local government autonomy.
During his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday, Fayose emphasized that the support of state governors is essential for anyone to become a local government chairman.
He argued that the court and federal government cannot override the influence of governors in local government matters, using the analogy ‘you cannot take the baby from the mother.’
Fayose’s comments suggest that the Supreme Court’s ruling may not necessarily translate to greater autonomy for local governments, as state governors and assemblies may still wield significant control over local government affairs.
He said, “I am not a lawyer. I am a politician, and by God’s grace today, I am an elder statesman.
“While I love and do not believe that any government should take local government funds, may I say to you very clearly this evening that you cannot take the baby from the mother? There is nobody who can become council chairman without a governor.
“Anybody telling you otherwise is wasting his time. Let me quickly remind you that the House of Assembly of every state controls the activities and checkmates the activities of the local government.
“While I was governor, I had the privilege of receiving money from Abuja. When you receive money from the account, some people manage the account. They are not politicians or the council chairman.
“There is only one representative of the governor, which is the local government commissioner. All others are local government officials, workers, and pensioners of the council and they appropriated the funds.
“But when you now come and say we are giving power to the local government, what power are you giving to them? No power.”
Fayose further stated that, in addition to the state lawmakers hindering the autonomy of local governments, another major issue is the lackadaisical attitude of council officials themselves.
He pointed out that many local government workers are not committed to their duties, often failing to show up to work on certain days of the week.
This lack of dedication, Fayose implied, undermines the effectiveness of local governments and hinders their ability to function optimally.
“Any council chairman who says, ‘Money is coming to me, I will disrespect my governor, the House of Assembly will tell you to go and disobey him inside your house.
“This is because you can never even be a council chairman without the governor standing up for you.
“The House of Assembly regulates your activities go to the council meeting on Wednesday or Friday; you will not find 10 percent of the staff of the local government in the office they don’t come.
“My name is Ayo Fayose, and I want them to dispute this, they don’t come to work. When you make moves to bring them to book, both NULGE and all the leaders of the local government will go and beg the governor.
“They will be telling you that we will not vote for you. This is the way we operate at the local government level.
“The state is more effective in administrative performance than the local government. At the local government, everybody comes to collect money.
Even people have left some states, they live somewhere else, and money just hit their accounts,” he added.
