Governor Chukwuma Soludo was criticized on Tuesday for signing the Anambra Local Government Administration Law 2024 into law.
Soludo said that the law was necessitated because granting absolute autonomy to the 774 local government areas was a recipe for “humongous chaos” and would not lead to sustainable development.
At a press briefing shortly before signing the law at the Governor’s Lodge in Awka, on Tuesday, Soludo argued that the Supreme Court judgment did not nullify Section 7 of the 1999 constitution.
The state House of Assembly passed the bill, titled “Anambra Local Government Administration Law 2024”, during its plenary session last Tuesday.
Speaking, Soludo insisted that Section 7 of the constitution empowered the state governments to enact enabling laws for the administration of the respective local government areas across the country.
He emphasised that the two pieces of legislation passed by the state assembly sought to achieve consistency, enhanced transparency, and collaboration among the tiers of government.
The signing came amid concerns from members of civil society groups and other opposition groups faulting the passage of the Local Government Administration Bill.
Among persons groups that raised concerns about the new law were a member of the Labour Party in the state, Chief Damian Ugoh, who said, “Signing of the LG is against the Supreme Court judgement.
“The bill seeks to arm-twist the chairmen to send back the local government allocation received directly from the Federal Government to the state coffers.
“Consequently, we, as a political party, stand by the decision of the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, on the autonomy of local government and the management of their funds.
“That going by the extant order of the Supreme Court, the state House of Assembly cannot make laws seeking to compel the local governments to pay in their federal allocation to the state government under whatever guise.”
Also reacting, the Executive Director of Civil Rights and Liberty Organisation, Dr Ralph Uche, described the signing of the law as “anti-people,” aimed at denying the local government councils’ funds meant for grassroots development.
Uche said, “The bill seeks to compel local government areas to remit a portion of their federal allocations into a consolidated account controlled by the state, which is a wrong development.
Soludo, at a press conference after signing the bill, described the two new laws as consequential and giving operational life to the Supreme Court judgment, not undermining it.
Soludo said, “The debate as to whether local governments should be part of the federal constitution or left to each federating unit (state) to determine its own appropriate local government system is still an unsettled matter.
“The APC committee on restructuring Nigeria proposed scrapping the local government from the Constitution of Nigeria.
“In the context of our evolving federalism, I see the recent Supreme Court judgment regarding the direct transfer of funds belonging to the local governments as an important contribution to our search for effective and transparent administration of resources at the regional level.
“This is where Section 7 of the Constitution comes in handy, and the Anambra State House of Assembly has risen to the occasion. Happily, the Supreme Court did not nullify Section 7 of the Constitution.
“The new laws by the Anambra House of Assembly are, therefore, consequential to give operational life to the Supreme Court judgment and not to undermine it.
“If the state House of Assembly abdicates this constitutional duty, the Local Government will then have no law on the use and management of its finances, which the Constitution has given the state House of Assembly (and only the House of Assembly) the mandate to legislate on.
“By the way, isn’t the legislative authority exercised by the State Assemblies under Section 7 of the Constitution similar to the powers granted by the Constitution to the National Assembly over the Federal Capital Territory and its Area Councils?”
The governor said a critical instrument to sustainable development at the grassroots is through structured collaboration among the tiers of government, adding that no tier of government enjoys absolute autonomy.
He said without active collaboration and coordination between state and local governments, many LGs will end up in a huge financial mess, requiring bailouts by state governments.
“The federal government has exclusive rights over resources, but the state has exclusive rights over the land. At the state level, each state is spending a fortune on its revenue.
“No tier of government can function without the collaboration of others. The three tiers have the objective of the people. The FG is not completely autonomous of the state. It’s a collaborative arrangement to achieve the same objective.
“The new laws of Anambra are designed to protect the LG against collapse, to protect our workers, and to prevent our primary health care from collapsing. In Anambra, we do not want to wake up and hear that one local government pays a salary while others do not.
“With these laws, workers and retirees from the LG system in Anambra can sleep with their two eyes closed. All tiers must collaborate, coordinate, and work with one another. In summary, the laws ensure that the state can function cohesively.
“The essence of putting the money together is not for governors to put it in their pocket. If LG wakes up one day and can’t pay salaries or gratuities, who will intervene for them?
“That is the beautiful thing that these laws would avoid. It is designed to unleash the creative powers of the LG as well as novel accountability and ingenuity. The constitution mandates that both the state and the LGs must jointly plan the state together.
“We agreed to send the money directly to the LG, it will encourage greater participation. But then, if the money gets there, who exercises oversight function on it? How are you going to spend it so that the system doesn’t collapse and we don’t get into a chaotic situation as it were? The essence of the law is to have the state planned in a coherent, systematic and sustainable way,” the governor added.
Soludo, however, denied the insinuations making the rounds that governors had made LG chairmen sign a secret oath to allow them to transfer the LG funds to the state, insisting that such never happened.
He said, “Governors are often accused of seeking to ‘control’ LG funds with insinuations that LG funds are mismanaged.
“Of course, in a society where public office is seen as a ‘dining table’ and public trust is low, people judge others by their standards: by what they would do if they were in the position. I often ask: control for what?”