Local government autonomy, governance and outcomes in Nigeria, By Femi Mimiko

Premium Times - Nigeria'bs leading online newspaper, delivering breaking news and deep investigative reports from Nigeria

SPECIAL REPORT: Jigawa villagers link declining farming output, urban drift to abandonment of damSPECIAL REPORT: Katsina farmers lament impact of climate changeKen-Calebs Olumese at 80: An extraordinary showbiz impresario, mentor and leader, By Ehi BraimahSPECIAL REPORT: Jigawa villagers link declining farming output, urban drift to abandonment of damSPECIAL REPORT: Katsina farmers lament impact of climate changeKen-Calebs Olumese at 80: An extraordinary showbiz impresario, mentor and leader,...

What the Supreme Court has done is simply to yank off a clear provision of the Constitution, and replace it with something completely foreign to it. To imagine that some lawyers, some of them quite senior, would endorse this type of dangerous precedent simply because of animus against the governors, is quite difficult to internalise.

Fifthly, I make bold to assert that what the Supreme Court has done, perhaps unwittingly, is to drill down on injustice and inequity, underlying the creation of LGAs, and indeed, States, perpetrated when Nigeria was under military rule. There are no objective and unimpeachable criteria for the number of LGAs created. The creation was simply done on the basis of the whims and caprices of the military generals that bestrode these climes like a colossus in those years.

The only silver lining in the Supreme Court judgement relates to its ruling on the sacrosanctity of democratic structures at the LGA level. On this, I had argued in my earlier piece, that “The only things that should be of concern, and on which attention should be focused, are first, that governance at the LGA level be by elected leaders, only; and secondly, how to prevent State Governors from wantonly dismissing elected LGA leaders and substituting for them, caretaker committees.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

PremiumTimesng /  🏆 3. in NG

Nigeria Latest News, Nigeria Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Femi Johnson: Ignorance in aviation sector, poor decisions negatively impacting industry, NigeriaNigeria's aviation sector is in a critical state as safety violations persist, aggravated by the decisions of the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo. The Minister's actions have caused uncertainty among passengers and stakeholders while severely tarnishing the reputation of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Read more »

Why Nigeria needs to shift gear on local auto policyNational Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) has recognised the need for a change and is now gearing up to shift Nigeria's local auto policy into high gear.
Read more »

Local govts need half of Nigeria’s revenue to develop rural areasHe said he would prefer INEC to take over local elections in Nigeria to enable the emergence of credible leaders at the grassroots.
Read more »

Local government autonomy, a win for Nigeria democracyThe House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Public Petitions, Hon Mike Etaba, has said the Supreme Court judgement, granting autonomy to local government is a win for democracy in Nigeria.
Read more »

How Nigeria can leverage on Local Content law to create one million jobs yearlyMr. Emmanuel Ekon, a two-term member of the House of Representatives, who represented Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State in the National Assembly, was Chairman of the powerful House Committee on Local Content.
Read more »

21 local government areas in Nigeria submerged in flood [Full list]The Federal Government has revealed that no fewer than 21 local government areas in 10 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, have been submerged by flood as a result of torrential rainfall in the past few days.
Read more »