Action Aid on Monday called on the National Assembly to undertake constitution amendments that would “explicitly define the limitations of the powers of state governors in the affairs of the councils''.
Dr Hussain Abdul, country director of Action Aid, gave the advice? in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
He noted that there were a lot of loopholes in the constitution with regard to the councils, adding that the governors were exploiting the loopholes to create development areas in their states.
He said the loopholes in the 1999 constitution “tacitly gave a leeway to the governors to undermine the local government level of government''.
Abdul, however, conceded that there was no law which prohibited any state from creating its own administrative units.
He noted that such administrative units could be created if they were not labelled local government areas and if the funds meant for existing local governments were not used to run the affairs of the new units.
The country director said that even with the clause, it was so unfortunate that the creation by some states had led to a breach of the constitution resulting in governors funding development areas with the allocations for the local governments.
Abdul was reacting to the action of Imo government on creation of a fourth tier of government as development areas.
He said Imo was not the first to create a fourth tier of government as development areas.
“It is so unfortunate the constitution is not too clear on local government itself, there are a lot to discus around it, Imo is not the first to create a fourth tier of government as development area.
“The practice has been in existence since ages, even some states initiated their coat of arms, national anthem and security outfits.''
?Abdul pointed out that Kaduna and several other states created development areas, usually they called them local government areas but later reverted to development areas while some still maintained their numenclature
He said in 2000 some states created more local governments which the Federal Government resisted and eventually such local governments were changed to development areas.
He said it was so unfortunate that the constitution was not too clear on the creation of additional local government’s areas.
“Unfortunately local government purview falls within the state government, and for the local government, the constitution says the state assemblies shall make laws for the local government.’’.
He said the same constitution also listed local government in its fourth schedule and by doing that, it has made changes in the structures very difficult.
Abdul said there were contradictions in the constitution with regard to local government administration which ought to be amended during the constitution review.
He said that Section 7 (1) of the constitution which stated that the local government system should comprise democratically elected councils, while state governments should ensure their existence under the law, which provided for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils.
Abdul, however, said that Section 7 (1) and Section 8 of the constitution had a lot of contradictions.
“Yet Section 7 Sub-section (6b) states that the National Assembly shall produce public revenue from the local government councils of the federation.
Abdul said the confusion was extended further by section 7 (b) which states that the house of assembly in the state shall make provision for statutory allocation of public revenue and the internally generated revenue collected from the state government to local government councils within the state.
He said this contradiction also repeated itself in section 162 (6) where it established that the state joint local government accounts for the purpose of payment of all allocations to the local government councils to the state and from the federal account to the government of the state.
Abdul said “Section 162 (7) directs the local governments to pay the local government councils their total revenue on the terms prescribed by the National Assembly.
He said this constitution at the same time, arrogated the same power and function to the state house of assembly in section 162 sub section (8).
He said there were so many sections of the constitution that contradicted the running of the local governments and that had given a lee way to the governors to perpetrate the diversion of local government funds appropriated in the federation account.
?
?