The speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Umar Ahmed Imam has drummed supports for financial autonomy for local government areas in the country so as to engender meaningful development at the grassroots.
Imam, who spoke in Lokoja on Tuesday against the backdrop of the constitutional amendment conference held in Lagos recently, noted that the third tier of government would remain at the mercy of state governors if not given autonomy to operate.
“You could see that some of the governors don’t even allow for election to be held at that level, and that is because they are not autonomous. It is just there on paper that we have three tiers of government- federal, state and local government,” he said.
He maintained that if the autonomy for local governmentย must sail through, there must be abolition of the current Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) system so that allocations can go to local government accounts as first line charge.
On autonomy for state assemblies, Imam blamed members of the 36 state houses of assemblies in the last dispensation for failing to vote for their own autonomy when they had opportunity to correct the anomaly that had perpetually kept the legislature under the influence of their governors.
“You know, it is a shame that state Assemblies even voted for autonomy for the national Assembly but deprived themselves the same autonomy.
“We are hoping to achieve it this time. We would sensitize all members to know that it is not about today but after now. Today, you are here it could be another person tomorrow. We are all doing this for posterity.”
He said the legislature being the fulcrum of democracy needed to have financial autonomy to discharge their responsibilities effectively.
Credits: Itodo Daniel Sule | Daily Trust
