A legal luminary, Barr. Ngozi Olehi SAN says notwithstanding how sound and erudite the recent Supreme Court of Nigeria judgment on Local Government Autonomy is, he is not excited because with the sophistication of looting in governance these days, it will not be in doubt that methods to subvert the decision are already on ground.
Addressing newsmen in Owerri, Barr. Olehi, SAN said right from the commencement of the extant Constitution in 1999, Local Government Autonomy has been enshrined therein with clear-cut provisions on the functions of the Local governments in Fourth Schedule of the said Constitution but because Governors see Local Government allocations as their personal gifts from the Federal Government, the Local Governments are being starved of entitlements.
He pointed out that the functions of the Local Government Councils in the Fourth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) include the consideration and the making of recommendations to a State Commission on economic planning or any similar body on the economic development of the State, particularly as concerns the area of authority of the Council, construction and maintenance of local roads, streets, street lightings, drains and other public highways, parks, gardens and public facilities as well as the development of agriculture and natural resources, other than the exploitation of minerals.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria observed that those provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) relating to the functions of the Local Government have been rendered moribund by the looters who mindlessly empty Council funds into their houses and leave the local Governments abjectly dysfunctional only to share crumbs therefrom to their cronies and booth lickers as well as to gullible and spineless LG Chairmen, Caretaker Committee members and sole administrators who cannot resist executive greed and constitute the channels through which the funds are illegitimately drained out public treasury.
Barr. Olehi SAN said if properly and prudently managed, each Local Government in Nigeria can employ not less than seven thousand staff to perform its functions in the Fourth Schedule from its statutory allocations and internally generated revenue but regretted that corruption has reduced Local Governments to grass fields with scanty demoralized and disheartened staff most irregularly paid with extremely poor working and welfare conditions.
He said that even without the pronouncement of the Supreme Court, Governors are bound to respect the wish of the people, restrain themselves from looting local Government funds and allow the councils to function at full capacity and contribute to the much-needed development of their areas to eliminate poverty that is gravely ravaging the populace.
Barr. Olehi SAN noted that the problem of looting cannot be solved through Local Government elections conducted by State Independent Election Commissions or even the Independent National Electoral Commission as some people are suggesting because weak moral fibre of the officers of these fragile institutions have made them slaves to stupendously rich politicians and therefore made them incapable of resisting the dishonesties of their paymasters.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said that approaches towards reviving the grievously ailing economy are clearly superficial and incoherent with no tangible options to terminate dismal and high profile corruption at all levels pointing out that sharing out palliatives to party leaders and insignificant number of party cronies will certainly crush the spirit of resilience, innovation and creativity that create pathways to economic restoration and glory while escalating official corruption arising from lack of accountability and transparency.
Barr. Olehi regretted that the political class has destroyed critical values that check their extremely devastating excesses and which have brought Nigeria to its knees pointing out that it is impossible to reverse the doom without rule of law, strong institutions and human capital development all of which they have smashed in their ignominious bids to loot and wreck the economy.
He called on the people to be active citizens with readiness to flush out all manners of people that feed fat on the polity and possess such attitudes have made politics the most lucrative business in Nigeria.
