(NIGERIA) Twenty three (23) State Houses of Assembly in the country have rejected moves by the National Assembly for local government autonomy.
This is because they voted against the moves seeking to grant autonomy to the third tier of government.
Specifically, proposal by the National Assembly for granting of financial autonomy to the 774 local government councils in the country, in the ongoing constitution amendment through concurrence of at least 24 of the 36 states’ Houses of Assembly, has been rejected by the states.
The states; Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Borno, Yobe, Taraba, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Rivers, Cross River, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Enugu and Imo states voted against amendment.
But Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Ebonyi, Anambra, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Plateau, Niger, Kogi, Benue, Kwara and Abia voted for local government autonomy. It would be recalled that moves to grant Local Government autonomy began when the National Assembly resumed work for the seventh Assembly and passed a motion seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution.
According to Deputy Speaker and Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Review of Constitution, Emeka Ihedioha, the current 1999 Constitution was the product of a military decree, and as a result has been subject to a crisis of legitimacy, one of the main criticisms being that it did not emerge from a process of consultation and involvement with the population, including through a referendum.
Ihedioha maintained that the special ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives on the review of the Constitution was set up on September 25, 2011, consequent upon the inauguration of the House earlier that year, and that its early establishment demonstrated a recognition of the need for constitutional reform.
The Deputy Speaker said the House recognises the Constitution to be a serious and fundamental part of Nigerian democracy, and consequent reform requires the full involvement and participation of all Nigerians.
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