When President Muhammadu Buhari joined issues with state governors who he accused recently of emasculating local governments in their respective states, he did not only share a personal experience on the matter, but he also appeared to have documentary evidence to back his claim.

 

Buhari had just received the report of the Senior Executive Course 44, 2022 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru, Nigeria’s think-tank in policy formulation, which returned a damning verdict on the governors in their relationship with local governments when he spoke.

 

Among other findings of the report, entitled, STRENGTHENING LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA: CHALLENGES, OPTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES, it said: “In many of the states visited, it was observed (by participants in course) that local governments lack sufficient administrative, political, and financial autonomy to operate effectively as the third tier of government.

 

“This lack of autonomy manifests in the control of local government funds through the operation of the State Joint Local Government Account (SJLGA) and the arbitrary dissolution of elected Local Government Councils, among others. The lack of financial autonomy is of particular concern because it adversely affects the ability of local governments to provide public services and promote sustainable grassroots development”.

 

Buhari , while receiving the report, wondered why governors would collect money on behalf of council areas in their states only to remit just half to the council chairman, who in turn pilfer the public resources.

 

He blamed the situation on lack of integrity and character on the part of those holding such offices, which he said indicated the level of corruption in the country.

 

His words: “Speaking from personal experience, a chief executive of a state, a qualified lawyer, trained, the treatment of local governments, what they did, this is my personal experience, if the monies from the federal government to state governments is 100 million (naira), let’s put it at 100 million. 50 million will be sent to the chairman with a letter that he will sign that he received N100 million.

 

“The governor would pocket the balance and share it with whoever he wanted to and then the chairman of the local government would see how much he must pay in salaries. To hell goes development. Monies for the salaries would be given and the balance would be put in his pocket. This is what is happening.

 

“This is Nigeria. It’s a terrible thing. You cannot say the person who was doing these was not educated. He was a qualified lawyer; he was experienced, yet he participated in this type of corruption.

 

“So, it’s a matter of conscience, whichever level we find ourselves. As a leader, you sit here, with all the sacrifices the country is making by putting you through institutions and getting you ready to lead, the fundamental thing is personal integrity. May God help us.”

 

Indeed, at the outset of the assignment of the Senior Executive Course 44, 2022 of the National Institute, Buhari had told the participants to conduct research on the theme ‘Strengthening Local Governance in Nigeria’ to underscore his concerns over poor governance at that level of government in Nigeria.

 

There are 774 local government areas (LGAs) in the 36 states of the country but the participants visited LGAs in 14 states namely Bauchi, Delta, Katsina, Oyo, Kano, A/Ibom, Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa, Gombe, Kwara, Borno and Ogun.

 

They also visited six African countries: Tanzania, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Cabo Verde and Cameroon as well as six countries outside the continent as follows: India, Malaysia, UAE, Turkiye, Malaysia and Singapore.

 

In the executive summary of its report, the group noted: “Numerous reforms have been carried out towards strengthening local governance in Nigeria, the most prominent of which was the Dasuki Reform of 1976.

 

“However, these reforms were largely targeted at the local government system, with little regard for local governance. Hence, the reforms have not produced effective and efficient local governance institutions and processes leading to commensurate results in terms of public service delivery and development.

 

“Instead, constitutional ambiguities and lacunae, coupled with the piecemeal nature of the reforms have largely undermined the capacity of local governments to mobilise revenues and function as autonomous entities accountable to their respective communities and citizens (Kersting et al., 2009; Adeyeye, 2022; Ladan, 2022).

 

“The combined effects of these and other related challenges such as corruption, poor citizen participation, lack of autonomy and poor revenue generation, among others, have accounted for the low performance of local governments in bringing about sustainable development (Okeke and Agu, 2016).

 

“As part of efforts aimed at enhancing the autonomy of local governments and stemming the tide of corruption, the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), issued a directive barring states from making deductions directly from the State Joint Local Government Account and prohibiting large cash withdrawals from Local Government accounts.

 

“Additionally, in March 2022, the National Assembly passed two Constitution amendment bills aimed at granting financial and administrative autonomy to local governments. Both bills 2 have been transmitted to the States’ House of Assembly for approval in line with statutory requirements for a constitutional amendment.

 

“However, the mandatory approval of two-thirds of all States’ House of Assembly is yet to be achieved. Furthermore, the proposed amendments do not address all the constitutional bottlenecks that impinge on local government autonomy and performance.

 

“In spite of these challenges, strengthening local governance deserves to remain a top national policy priority because, without strong local governance, development is severely impeded. It is against this backdrop that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, tasked the participants of the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 44, 2022 to conduct research on the theme ‘Strengthening Local Governance in Nigeria’.

 

“Accordingly, the study aimed to evaluate the challenges, options and opportunities for strengthening local governance in Nigeria.

 

“Consequently, the objectives of the study were to examine the nature of the strategic environment and how it affects local governance in Nigeria; appraise the historical perspectives, policy, legal and institutional frameworks for strengthening local governance in Nigeria; evaluate the roles of the stakeholders in local governance in Nigeria, and identify the issues and challenges limiting the practice of local governance in Nigeria.

 

“Additionally, the study sought to discuss the lessons that could be learnt from the practice of local governance in the countries studied; evaluate the opportunities and policy options available in Nigeria for strengthening local governance, and proffer recommendations and implementation strategies for strengthening local governance in Nigeria”.

 

Findings

 

The study of the Senior Executive Course 44, 2022 of NIPSS found that the operation of the State Joint Local Government Account (SJLGA) and arbitrary dissolution of elected Local Government Councils by state governors, among others, were the major factors fueling poor governance at the LGA level in Nigeria.

 

The report said: “In many of the states visited, it was observed that local governments lack sufficient administrative, political, and financial autonomy to operate effectively as the third tier of government.

 

“This lack of autonomy manifests in the control of local government funds through the operation of the State Joint Local Government Account (SJLGA) and the arbitrary dissolution of elected Local Government Councils, among others.

 

“The lack of financial autonomy is of particular concern because it adversely affects the ability of local governments to provide public services and promote sustainable grassroots development”.

 

Other findings include citizens poor participation in local governance, absence of rule of law, absence of security of tenure, lack of accountability and transparency and lack of inclusiveness in governance.

 

On poor citizen participation in local governance, the report revealed that many local governments do not involve citizens in policy and project planning as well as implementation.

 

“As such, some development projects in the local communities appear to be imposed on the communities without considering their relevance to the people”, it said.

 

The group described rule of law as a principle of good governance which upholds the equality of all citizens before the law and prevents the arbitrary use of power, finding, however, that there are many instances of non-adherence to the rule of law which have impacted negatively on local governance in Nigeria.

 

“Section 7 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) guarantees the existence of democratically elected Local Government Councils. However, the same section also empowers State Governments to promulgate laws for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils”, the report said.

 

“This has created an opportunity for State Governments to dissolve duly elected Local Government Councils, contrary to the provisions of the Constitution. This is an indication of poor adherence to the rule of law and calls for urgent action to prevent further similar violations of the Constitution”.

 

The tenure of Local Government elected officials, according to the report, is a contentious issue affecting local governance in Nigeria.

 

“This is because the Constitution is silent on the tenure of elected Local Government Council officials. Consequently, the determination of the tenures of Local Government Councils has been left to the discretion of State Governments”, the group said.

 

“The absence of guaranteed tenure has often manifested in arbitrary termination of Local Government Councils by State Governments and their replacement by Caretaker Committees. This has impeded the democratic growth and good governance in Local Government Areas”.

 

On accountability and transparency, the report said: “During the study tours to some Local Government Areas, it was gathered that some Local Government Council officials issue fake receipts for revenue collected, which is subsequently converted for personal use (SEC 44, 2022).

 

“It was also gathered that some State and local government elites divert local government funds to enrich themselves and manipulate political outcomes (SEC 44, 2022).

 

“The misuse of local government funds occurs due to the absence of functional accountability and oversight mechanisms within the administrative structure of local government institutions in Nigeria. This has resulted in poor governance, undermined institutions and hindered development, which is central to the existence of local governments (Adeyemi, 2012).”

 

On inclusiveness in governance, participants of SEC 44 observed the poor participation of women, youth, ethno-religious minorities and persons with disabilities in governance in all the states visited.

 

Comparative Analysis

 

The study carried out a comparative analysis of good practices in local governance between Nigeria and other countries, saying a multi-tier structure of local government, as practised in countries such as Ethiopia and India, is more suitable for local governance than the single-tier structure practised in Nigeria.

 

It added, “The establishment and administration of local government areas by States or Regions, as practised in countries like Ethiopia and Uganda, facilitate the restructuring or creation of new areas, as the need arises, thereby avoiding the bureaucratic red tape associated with constitutional amendments. “Fixed tenure for local government officials and conduct of regular elections, as seen in Cabo Verde and Tanzania, enhance local government autonomy and promote local governance.

 

“Revenue mobilisation by local authorities with clearly defined procedures for payment of royalties to the Central Government, as practised in countries like Tanzania, Türkiye, Uganda and Zimbabwe, enhances the funding required for the effective provision of services and engenders local accountability. “The granting of financial and administrative autonomy to local governments, as practised in Ethiopia and India, enhances effective local governance”

 

Opportunities

 

The study believed the ongoing Constitution amendment process provides an opportunity to address all legal imperatives required to strengthen the position of local governments as an independent tier of government.

 

“To this end, Section 8 (3) of the Constitution could be amended to allow States to create Local Governments without requiring Constitutional amendment”, the report said.

 

“ Additionally, Parts I and II of the Second Schedule of the Constitution could also be amended to devolve more powers to sub-national governments. Furthermore, the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution could be amended to delegate more functions to local governments in line with the principle of subsidiarity.

 

“The States’ Fiscal Transparency Accountability Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme is a World Bank-assisted programme which focuses on strengthening the fiscal sustainability, transparency and accountability of Nigerian states.

 

“The objectives of the programme are to improve accountability and transparency, increase public revenue, rationalise public expenditure and improve public financial management. The programme has recorded many successes.

 

“For instance, the aggregated IGR of the 36 states and the FCT increased from N1.33 trillion in 2019, to N1.56 trillion in 2020 and to N1.90 trillion in 2021 (NBS, 2022).

 

“In view of the success of the SFTAS, a similar programme could be extended to local governments.

 

“The Local Governance Competitive Index is used in countries such as India to evaluate the performance of sub-national governments across the key indices of good governance such as accountability, transparency, participation, equity, inclusiveness, effectiveness, and rule of law.

 

“Such an index could be used to evaluate the performance of States and Local Governments in governance processes.

 

“Effective governance can only thrive in an atmosphere of peace. However, the current security environment poses a serious threat to local governance as local communities are the most affected by the prevailing insecurity.

 

“It therefore becomes necessary to adopt a Whole-of-Society Approach in addressing the security challenges across the country in order to create an enabling environment for effective local governance. “This could be achieved by strengthening the already existing community policing systems at all levels of government”.

 

Options

 

The study listed three options to strengthen local governance, implementation strategies and timelines.

 

The options are granting greater devolution of powers to sub-national governments, strengthening the revenue base and mobilization capability of local governments, and human capacity building for enhanced citizen participation in governance (this may be achieved through the President leveraging on the National Council of State to obtain the support of state governors and other key stakeholders for local government autonomy by the first quarter of 2023 and states’ Houses of Assembly expediting the approval of the Constitutional amendment bills aimed at granting administrative and financial autonomy to local governments by the first quarter of 2023).

 

(Vanguard)