Connect with us

Opinion

Local Government Autonomy: How Desirable?

Published

11 years ago

on

The two chambers of the National Assembly recently adopted the proposal for administrative and financial autonomy for local governments as the third tier of government in the federation. While this move was received with joy among stakeholders in the local government system, others like primary school teachers and state governors opposed it, giving the problem of executive recklessness and ineffective administration at the local level as some of their reasons.
What do Port Harcourt residents think about this burning issue? Our Chief Correspondent, Calista Ezeaku and photographer, Dele Obinna went round the city to find out.

Prince Ekong Omirsen -Protocol Officer
The local government employees have been looking for this autonomy. I think it is better that local government as a third tier of government be autonomous. That will ensure that local governments  are not being toyed with. Most of the chairmen are not even sure of themselves.
They come into power almost by selection and they pay allegiance to those who selected and not those who voted them in. But if LGAs are going to be autonomous, then intending chairmen would talk to the people, the people will vote them in and they would pay allegiance to the masses and not the governors.
You see, in this country we are always looking for scape goats. The governors alleged that LGA chairmen abuse their offices and that’s why they want to control LGAs. If they say the chairmen abuse their offices, I think other segements, of the government also abuse their offices. So we cannot take the chairmen as scape goats. So I will want the local governments to be fully autonomous, where the local government chairmen will be fully incharge and they will not be answerable to any body other than the masses. They will be check-mated by the councillors. There will be proper checks and balances.

David Dakoru – Pastor
My opinion over the independence of the local government is very straight. There are three tiers of government in Nigeria – Federal, State and Local government. The Federal and State are autonomous. So I support the bill in the National Assembly that the right thing should be done. More powers should be given to the local government.
A situation where the states collect money from the national, take the bulk sum and give pea nuts to local governments cannot make the local governments to work effectively.
Some people have argued that granting autonomy to local governments will enhance corruption in the country but I disagree with that. When we talk about corruption in Nigeria, it cuts across every segment of the society. Both at the Federal, State and Local governments, there are corrupt people. In government of today, there are only a few people that are not corrupt. At least fifty percent of the people are corrupt from the federal down to the grassroots.
But why I am emphasising that the local government should be autonomous is because the greater number of the population dwell in the rural area. And these local government areas are supposed to have major infrastructure, but they are not there. In Rivers State, the governor tried to a little extent. He used the allocations collected to build the primary health centres and schools which is a welcome development. Now, the primary functions of local government are not being attended to because of inadequate fund. It might be true that some local government chairmen cannot account for the little money they collect monthly but the truth of the matter is that you cannot be 100 per cent clean.
But if you give a local government may be N100m, by the time they deduct the meney for the over head cost – salaries and so on – what will be remaining cannot even be used to build roads. I believe LGAs can make more impact if they are granted autonomous status. The control of the local governments by state governors impedes their growth and development. They can sack a local government chairman overnight and either bring him back again or put another person.
It is not supposed to be so. How many times has a governor been sacked like that? Both of them were elected.
Let us freely allow them to do their jobs. What is the essence of creating the local government areas if they will not have the funds and freedom to operate?

Bar. Chinda – Legal practitioner I think the constitutional amendment is a good development. We have been longing for this for a long time and we hope and wish that the national assembly will keep it to their word and the president will assent to the bill. Ordinarily, as a lawyer, I do not see anything wrong with local government autonomy because previously local governments had been treated as if they were nothing. But with the amendment, at least LGAs  will be able to get fund directly from the federal government and no governor irrespective of his party affiliation or that of a council chairman will disband a LG. There is a Supreme Court authority which says that no governor has any right to disband a local government properly constituted. But most governors have been doing that for a very long time.
They come into power and probably the LG chairmen are not of the same party with them, they would disband the LGA leadership and appoint a care taker committee.
I think this wouldn’t come into effect again if local governments become autonomous I also think if there is proper checks and balances on local governments, autonomy will not increase corruption in the system as some people believe. Auditors are prepared to do their work. Now and again, the Federal Government has to send auditors directly from the federal government and no longer states to audit local governments. It will also be the responsibility of the Federal Government to make sure that local government chairmen actually sit in their local areas and deliver. And there has to be monitoring of  projects and evaluation of projects and if they are not up to expectation, more funds will not be delivered to them. In my own opinion there has to be a local government minister, directly responsible to  checkmate the activities of LGAs.
I believe the amendment will sail through depending on the discipline of the legislators because even if the governors gang up against it, our people in the Assembly will not buy into that idea.

Bar. Maxwell Oji- Legal Practitioner
I think that is the best news of the day because the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, being a grundnorm ought to be respected. The issue of the autonomy of the local government is a constitutional matter and it ought to be followed to the letter. If we have three tiers of government – the federal, the state and the local government, it follows therefore that in as much as the  federal and state receive what belongs to them, then what belongs to the local government ought to be given to them. There is no point having autonomy in name but not in practice. Its wrong.
It’s obvious that autonomy of the local government will facilitate development in the grassroots because if what belongs to LGAs are given to them, it is believable that if things follow the way it should be the chairmen should be able to know the needs of those at the grass root and as provided by the constitution as their duties and responsibilities, I supposed that they should be able to do that which constitutionally is given to them as their responsibilities. And to ensure that the money allocated to the local government areas are not embezzled by the chairmen, the anti-corruption agencies should be up and doing. There should be proper checks and balances.
Recently the governors alleged that the local government chairman are hardly in their offices. That they run government areas from their hotel accommodation in the cities, that the state governments have taken away all the big projects ought to be executed by LGAs like funding of primary school education, roads, health care and all that. They argued that if these big jobs are taken away from LGAs, what is now left for them to do is to only pay workers salaries.
So if autonomy will be granted LGs, they should ensure that they take back these responsibilities specified by the constitution that these are the responsibilities meant for the LGAs. Chairman should take back these responsibilities and let the fund meant for these responsibilities be given to them.
Mr. JJ –   Civil Servant
In this Nigeria what is causing confusion is that we don’t even know the type of democracy we are practicing. I don’t know where we borrowed our own type of democracy. I don’t know whether we are practicing presidential system of government, true federalism, which we are not seeing in place.’ If we say we borrowed a democracy from America, we suppose not to be arguing whether the local government should be autonomous or not. The state governments have hijack most of the revenue that the LGAs are entitled to. The states have also hijacked most of the functions of the LGAs like education. That is why there is so much decay in our educational sector. Previously, when LGAs were in charge of primary schools, inspectors on routine inspection to primary schools. Now nobody does all they are interested in is approval by the ministry. No routine checks.
The states have virtually taken all the jobs that LGAs are supposed to be doing because of the financial gains. So it is good we state the type of government we are running because they say we have the federal, state and local governments. How can the Local Government now be under the state governments. Is it still three ties of government? I don’t think so.

Mr. Dallas Olodun-NOA staff
The general view will be that it is good for democracy. But I have always been concerned about governance in Nigeria and the abuse of power by those in authority.  Governors have always been criticised for mismanaging public funds and I don’t know how reliable the LGA chairmen will be in terms of managing fund, in terms of utilizing funds, in terms of properly appropriating these funds if LGAs are granted full autonomy. Besides payment of salaries what will they use this money for?
However, I believe the main aim of creating the local government area as the third tier of government is for grassroots development. The chairmen know the grassroots, they know the needs of the people. So it is a wrong allegation for governors to say that the autonomy of local government will lead to ineffectiveness and corruption. As I always say, Governors over night become billionaires, why shouldn’t chairmen become millionaires? Why are they kicking against it? They are not clean in the first place, so they shouldn’t kick against it.
I quite agree that the local governments are answerable to the states just like the states are answerable to the federal government. There should be a level of control of the local government council, LGAs should be autonomous to a large extent especially in terms of managing their funds. Even the federal government will still have hands in the running of LGAs.
But I think they should try and allow the LGAs to be autonomous for now and assess the level of development in the next four to eight years. We shouldn’t wait for NULGE to call out its members to protest at various state houses of assembly or to embark on strike before the bill is considered. Nigeria is becoming a strike action environment. It shouldn’t get to that level.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Opinion

Agony In  Ivory Tower 

Published

6 days ago

on

March 9, 2026

By

Quote: A university that tolerates missing scripts, result manipulation and ‘sorting’ is not merely failing students—it is quietly destroying the moral foundation of education itself.”
The sad cases of missing scripts, compulsory Sorting, inputting of wrong results and other obnoxious practices in some public universities, leave much to be desired. One cannot imagine how a student will be compelled to suffer consequences of the flagrant negligence of a Head of Department, a lecturer, Department staff or an ICT staff.Many academic and non academic staff in several public universities seem to be performing far below standard, thus unproductive to the university system. The unacceptable cases of sorting, missing scripts, missing results, inputting of wrong grades to students, should not be mentioned in a university, not even in any academic community. This is because people who are employed to work in various positions should have cognate work experience and unquestionable competence. They should not be seen as  certificate welding illiterates but people who have been proven to be worthy in learning and character, diligent and competent to carry out assigned responsibilities with minimal or no supervision.
The university as a citadel of learning should boast of men of integrity, people  who are repositories of applied knowledge and competence to drive the much desired holistic development in a nation that functions on quality teaching and learning. A situation where a student having gone through the crucibles of learning and written a prescribed semester examination or class-based evaluation test, is told that his or her script is missing or that he or she did not participate in that academic exercise, or must sort to pass, is an unpardonable error and a height of callousness. In fact some lecturers and staff of Departments are using the seeming systemic defect (which is their architecture) as an opportunity to extort  students. Sometimes it is discovered much to students chagrin that the supposed missing script was later discovered when a ransom was paid.
Since a lecturer, or Head of Department has in their disposal both Yam and the knife and determines who takes what (if they wish to give without strings), students have no alternative but to submit to their importunate demands in order to graduate at record time.Such practices should be unheard of in an institution that should be a vanguard of moral and ethical values and conduct. What people learn in school constitute their behavioural patterns in the society. Where the school as an agency of socialisation cannot drive positive change first in its immediate environment, then the objective of education as a bedrock for the development of society, is inevitably compromised and counter-productive. The German Reformer, Dr. Martins Luther was quoted as saying, “I advise parents not to put their wards or children in any school where the Bible is not being used as a rule of life because such institutions will unnecessarily be corrupt”.
 Gleaning from Luther’s sentiment one can deduce that the lack of respect and regard for values as well as the absence of the fear of God is the greatest undoing of most public schools. Another major challenge is that lack of Information, Communication and Technology literacy or compliance on the part of some lecturers and heads of department, may have informed the decision to give students’ scripts to secretaries to compile and input students results thereby making the secretaries the determinants of students’ fate. It is not saying a new thing that some of the secretaries in the process of compiling results have inputted wrong results, omitted names or down graded some students or given unmerited grades to others.Society today is ICT-driven and ICT-literacy enhances efficiency, speed and a reasonable degree of accuracy if the person behind the computer is level headed, articulate, competent, alive to responsibilities and is aware that negligence on his or her part is not only tantamount to a disservice to the university but to the students who may not graduate at record time because of his or her (computer operator’s) gross ineptitude or carelessness.
The ICT era makes the carrying of hard copy of results obsolete as lecturers through the  Heads of Department  can log on to the central server of the Exams and Records (if any) or ICT unit and input students’ results directly. By so doing the incessant cases where result on spread sheet is different from the one published online, more often than not, caused by abject negligence, will be avoided. The process will also end the intermediary services of some staff in the universities’ Information, Communication and Technology Department which has become a money spinner-a lucrative source of income to many of them. In fact some ICT staff reserved the power to award grades to students depending on students’ degree of compliance to terms and conditions. They can dubiously make or unmake a student. The university community should be considered too lofty to have careless, negligent, immoral  and academic or professionally deficient people as academic or non-academic staff.
The Governing  Councils and Senates of universities should be proactive in addressing the menace of missing Script,  inputting of wrong results and sorting.  This is  necessary to end the slogan “Education is scam” so the system can produce quality students who are truly found worthy in learning and in character by operators who exemplify diligence, moral and ethical values. The much-needed reform must begin within the institutions themselves, because the future of any society is shaped in its classrooms.
By: Igbiki Benibo
Continue Reading

Opinion

Strength of Emotional Equality

Published

6 days ago

on

March 9, 2026

By

Quote: “Love thrives not when one gives more, but when both give fully — not in competition, not in performance, but in partnership.”
In every healthy relationship, there exists an invisible balance. It is not measured in grand gestures, expensive gifts, or public displays of affection. It is measured in something quieter and far more significant: emotional equality. When couples stand on equal emotional grounds, love becomes less of a negotiation and more of a partnership. Emotional equality does not mean both individuals express love in identical ways. It does not require matching personalities or mirroring temperaments. Rather, it speaks to balance — a shared willingness to invest, to communicate, to be vulnerable, and to grow. It is the difference between two people walking side by side and one person constantly trying to catch up.
 In many relationships, imbalance begins subtly. One partner initiates most conversations. One apologizes more frequently. One carries the emotional labor — remembering important dates, managing conflicts, sensing tension, and attempting reconciliation. Over time, this uneven distribution of emotional effort breeds exhaustion. The partner who gives more begins to feel unseen. The one who gives less may grow comfortable in emotional passivity. Love, in such a space, starts to tilt — slowly at first, then significantly. Resentment can creep in quietly, disguising itself as patience. Silence may replace honest dialogue. What once felt effortless begins to feel heavy.
When couples stand on equal emotional grounds, responsibility is shared. Both people are accountable for the health of the relationship. If conflict arises, neither hides behind silence nor dominates through control. Instead, they engage. They listen. They speak honestly without weaponizing words. Equality creates safety — and safety strengthens intimacy. It allows both individuals to express needs without fear of ridicule or rejection. One of the most overlooked aspects of emotional equality is vulnerability. True connection requires courage. It demands that both partners risk being misunderstood. But when vulnerability is one-sided, it becomes exposure rather than intimacy. If one person consistently opens up while the other remains guarded, trust cannot fully deepen.
Equality ensures that emotional risks are mutual. Where one shares fears, the other shares too. Where one admits weakness, the other responds with openness rather than judgment. In such a space, authenticity flourishes. Another crucial element is validation. In emotionally balanced relationships, both partners feel heard. Their concerns are not dismissed as “overreactions.” Their feelings are not minimized or compared. When couples operate on equal emotional ground, they acknowledge each other’s experiences as legitimate. They may not always agree, but they always respect. Validation does not mean surrendering one’s viewpoint; it means recognizing that another’s emotional reality matters.
Equality also protects individuality. Contrary to popular belief, healthy love does not erase personal identity — it enhances it. When both partners are emotionally secure, they do not feel threatened by each other’s independence. Personal ambitions are encouraged, not resented. Friendships are respected, not restricted. Growth is celebrated, not feared. Standing on equal emotional grounds means neither person shrinks to accommodate the other. Instead, both expand, knowing the relationship is strong enough to hold their evolution. Power dynamics often expose emotional inequality. When one partner controls communication — appearing and disappearing unpredictably, withholding affection, or using silence as leverage — imbalance emerges.
 Emotional dominance weakens intimacy. It creates anxiety instead of assurance. But when couples share emotional power, there is consistency. There is clarity. There is no need to decode affection because it is offered freely and intentionally. It is important to understand that equality does not imply perfection. Couples will still disagree. They will face stress, miscommunication, and moments of frustration. However, when emotional footing is equal, conflict does not threaten the foundation. Instead, it becomes an opportunity for understanding. Both partners approach challenges as teammates rather than opponents. They choose resolution over ego and repair over pride.
Time often reveals whether emotional equality truly exists. In the early stages of love, intensity can disguise imbalance. Enthusiasm feels mutual. Effort appears equal. But as routine settles in and novelty fades, the structure of the relationship becomes clearer. Who still initiates? Who still invests? Who still shows up consistently? Sustainable love requires sustained balance. It is built not merely on attraction, but on deliberate reciprocity. Standing on equal emotional grounds requires intentionality. It demands honest conversations about needs and expectations. It requires both partners to examine their habits — whether they withdraw during tension, avoid accountability, or rely on the other to carry the emotional weight. Emotional maturity is not about avoiding conflict; it is about handling it responsibly and returning, again and again, to shared ground.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of emotional equality is peace. There is no constant anxiety about where one stands. No guessing games about commitment. No fear that affection may suddenly disappear. Instead, there is stability. There is reassurance. There is mutual effort. In a world where relationships often blur the lines between attention and commitment, equality offers clarity. It reminds us that love should not feel like competition or performance. It should feel like partnership. When couples stand on equal emotional grounds, they build something resilient. They build trust that does not fracture easily. They build respect that does not depend on mood. They build a connection rooted not only in passion but in balance. And in that balance, love finds its strength — not in who gives more, but in how both give fully.
By: Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi
Continue Reading

Opinion

NDDC: Time To Illuminate Homes 

Published

2 weeks ago

on

March 2, 2026

By

Quote:“Twenty-five years on, the Niger Delta cannot celebrate illuminated streets while families sit in darkness. Development must begin inside the home — where children study, businesses grow, and lives are built — before it glows on the roadside.”
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was established in 2000 with a clear and urgent mandate: to facilitate the rapid, even, and sustainable development of Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta region. The creation of the Commission followed decades of agitation over environmental degradation, infrastructural neglect, and socio-economic marginalization in the region. Its core mandate included the development of roads, bridges, electricity, water supply, health facilities, education, housing, environmental remediation, and economic empowerment initiatives. At inception, expectations were high that the Commission would transform the Niger Delta into a model of regional development. Over the years, the NDDC has indeed implemented numerous projects across the nine Niger Delta states. Roads have been constructed and rehabilitated in several communities, easing transportation challenges.
Schools have been renovated, and new classroom blocks have been provided in underserved areas. Health centres have been built or upgraded, improving access to primary healthcare services. The Commission has also awarded scholarships to students, including foreign postgraduate scholarships, empowering thousands of youths academically.Skills acquisition and youth empowerment programmes have helped many young people gain vocational competencies.Through various interventions, the NDDC has contributed to job creation and local economic stimulation.Solar-powered street lighting projects have been widely implemented in urban and semi-urban communities. These streetlights have improved visibility at night and contributed to enhanced security in some areas. Markets, highways, and public spaces illuminated by solar lights have experienced extended business hours.
For these efforts, the Commission deserves acknowledgment and commendation. However, development must always align with foundational mandates and pressing grassroots realities. A growing concern among residents is that while streets are illuminated, many homes remain in darkness. Rural electrification and household power access remain inconsistent and inadequate across large parts of the region. In riverine and remote communities, families still rely on generators, kerosene lamps, or complete darkness after sunset. The irony of brightly lit streets juxtaposed with powerless homes cannot be ignored. Electricity at the household level directly impacts education, health, and small-scale enterprise. Students cannot effectively study at night without reliable indoor lighting.Families cannot preserve food or power essential appliances without stable electricity.
Micro and small businesses struggle to grow without dependable energy access. While street lighting enhances public aesthetics and security, it does not substitute for domestic electrification. The proverb “charity begins at home” is especially relevant in this context. True community development must first empower households before beautifying public spaces. The Commission’s original mandate emphasizes integrated and sustainable development, not isolated infrastructural gestures. Balanced development requires that energy interventions prioritize homes alongside streets. Solar technology presents a unique opportunity for decentralized household electrification in off-grid communities. Extending solar solutions to individual homes would have a transformative social impact. Home-based solar systems could power lights, fans, small appliances, and communication devices.
Such interventions would reduce poverty, improve living standards, and stimulate grassroots productivity. By broadening its energy focus, the Commission would better reflect the spirit of its founding legislation. This is not a call to abandon street lighting projects, which have their merits. Rather, it is an appeal for balance, inclusivity, and alignment with core developmental objectives. Strategic planning should ensure that rural electrification and household access form a central pillar of ongoing interventions. Community engagement and needs assessments can help determine priority areas for household solar deployment. Twenty-five years after its establishment, the NDDC stands at a reflective moment in its institutional journey. The people of the Niger Delta say: thank you for the efforts so far—but not very much—because true appreciation will come when development begins at home and radiates outward, not merely when streets shine while houses remain in darkness.
By: King Onunwor
Continue Reading

Trending