Just Before We Scrap The State Assemblies…

MAZI EJIMOFOR OPARA 

Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution explicitly provides that the establishment, structure, composition, finance, and functions of local government councils are determined by the law of the state. It states: “the system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this Constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the Government of every State shall, subject to Section 8 of this Constitution, ensure their existence under a law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance, and functions of such councils.” This crystal-clear provision empowers the State House of Assembly to enact laws governing Local Councils. 

Various joint accounts exist between the Federal Government and the states, which may also include local governments. Examples of these accounts include the Natural Resources Development Fund, the Ecology Fund, the Universal Basic Education Fund (UBEF), and the Stabilization Fund. These pooled resources are designed to address shared needs between federal and state governments, frequently involving local governments. It is important also to reveal here that commitments from State governments to these pool of funds are checked off from source by the Federal Government, does this in any way hamper the financial autonomy of the States?

Such practices reinforce the principle of cooperative governance and demonstrate that the independence of state governments is not diminished but rather enhanced through collaboration, ultimately leading to improved outcomes for all levels of government and the communities they serve.

The contemplation of the Anambra Local Government Administration Bill 2024 is that the pool of resources needed to cater to the funding needs of jointly controlled programs/projects/institutions, including provisions for the payment of gratuities, pensions, salaries for primary school teachers, and counterpart funding for Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) projects from both the state and local governments is made available without avoidable hassles. Where such a law is not in place, some local governments may not pay staff who are not from the local government their gratuity and pension and may also neglect to make contributions to the projects recommended by the State Economic Planning Board. This is minus the backlog of pension and gratuities amounting to over 14billion Naira.

If we are not ready to allow these provisions of the constitution to stand, then it is okay we all agree that State Assemblies should not exist as the National Assembly in Abuja can make laws for even the Town Union and village meetings. After all, ours is still a “feeding bottle Federalism”.