The Director General Advocate for Better Leadership and Sustainable Rural Development Initiative (ABLE), Comrade Destiny Madu, has appealed to the judiciary and other relevant stakeholders to close ranks and resuscitate the nation’s local government system.

In a statement issued in Abuja, Comrade Madu, particularly, begged the judiciary to seize the opportunity presented by the federal government’s suit to restore the sanctity of the local government administration in Nigeria 

He warned the judiciary and other concerned stakeholders not to underestimate the strength of hungry, angry and disenfranchised youth across the country, who he said had borne the brunt of neglect of the third tier of government for several decades. 

He said, “What is happening in various countries across the globe can happen in this country, if we are not careful. I humbly beg all that are concerned to treat this issue with utmost care. 

“I have written several letters to this government in this regard. If any governor or group of persons have problem with local government autonomy, they should call for a constitutional review. 

“A major part of the economic hardship we are witnessing in the country today can be traced to our inability to resuscitate the local government administration, that was pocketed by state governors. 

“In a federal system like ours, you will agree with me that the effectiveness of local governments at development is a major determinant of national development.

“But when local governments are starved of development funds or incapable of generating adequate revenue for development, national development becomes lopsided.

“For instance, there are disparity in the percentage of tarred roads in Nigeria because more than 65 per cent of Nigeria’s roads are resident in the third tier of government, which, in turn, has the scarcest resources among the three tiers.

He lamented that the present structure of revenue generation and allocation in the country, almost leave the third tier of government least capable of delivering the dividends of government to the grassroots. 

“Adequate and effective local authority is one of the ways government policies and activities can reach the populace.

“The smooth running of the society needs to be cemented from the grassroots through adequate representations, policy formulations, implementations, and equitable distributions of resources and services.

“Nigeria is one of the few countries that adopted the federal system of government in Africa, a system that envisages autonomy for every tier of its authorities.

“Unfortunately, to suit their interests and political agenda, federal and state governments had maintained a substantial level of influence and control over local authorities over the decades.

“This has hindered local government effectiveness and performances, over the years”.