The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) can play a crucial role in solving the problem of state government control over LGA funds by:

1. Investigating and prosecuting cases of financial mismanagement and corruption involving state governments and LGAs.

2. Ensuring transparent and accountable management of LGA funds by monitoring and tracking financial transactions.

3. Enforcing laws and regulations related to financial governance and accountability at the local government level.

4. Providing training and capacity-building programs for LGA officials on financial management and accountability.

5. Collaborating with other agencies to ensure that state governments and LGAs comply with financial regulations and laws.

6. Conducting regular audits and reviews of LGA financial records to detect and prevent fraud.

7. Strengthening the legal framework to prevent state governments from tampering with LGA funds.

8. Encouraging citizen participation and engagement in monitoring LGA financial activities.

9. Providing protection for whistleblowers who report financial malfeasance in LGAs.

10. Collaborating with international partners to address cross-border financial crimes related to LGA funds.

By taking these steps, the EFCC can help ensure that LGA funds are managed transparently and accountably, reducing the likelihood of state government control and misappropriation.

DatNiggaDaz:
Agbado lawyers from the land of emilokans have destroyed what buhari left to be destroyed. To know that the Minister of justice & the chief judge of the supreme court don't know what federalism means tells you a lot about the much talked about sophisticatiion of these rascals.



When you hear them shouting sophisticatiion, you will think intelligence comes with it. But what is means is to go tribal ronu, nepotistic & bigoted when it involves other ethnic Nigerians.

The politicians from that place are the worst set of politicians in the whole world. Anything that has already been destroyed, they destroy even further. Political power is not meant for these Set of fraudsters because corruption, tribalism greed, bigotry & nepotism will is always taken to a whole New heigth like what we are experiencing from the most sophisticated failure to come out of that region.

When they mistakenly grab power, you will notice that everything start to fall like a torn Pack of cards. They use rascality, threats, corruption, thugs, agberos as avenue to get what ever they like.

Thesame thing happened in the 60ties with operation wetie

They are only good in praise singing incompetent clueless failures from back to back.

Read all the gibberish you wrote here shows you are confused and delusional, you are just ranting, grunting like pi.g, wailing like loser and peddling falsehood. Please seek professional help before you kpai yourself.

christistruth01:
Helinues have you noticed that the Afon.ja syndrome is not just a Yoruba problem
but a National one

where people will be fighting against those they are supposed to be fighting for until they
go down fighting for the wrong cause ?

Tunda faya your obirodent and IPOB brain.

Local Government Areas (LGAs) can work directly with the federal government to avoid state government division of funding by:

1. Establishing direct funding channels: LGAs can receive funds directly from the federal government, bypassing state governments.

2. Creating separate accounts: LGAs can maintain separate bank accounts for federal funds to prevent commingling with state government funds.

3. Direct communication: LGAs can communicate directly with federal government agencies, minimizing state government interference.

4. Federal grants: LGAs can apply for federal grants and funding programs, bypassing state government control.

5. Constitutional amendments: Advocating for constitutional amendments to empower LGAs to receive direct funding from the federal government.

6. Collaborating with federal agencies: LGAs can work directly with federal agencies on projects and programs, reducing reliance on state governments.

7. Capacity building: LGAs can build their capacity to manage federal funds and implement projects directly.

8. Transparency and accountability: LGAs can ensure transparency and accountability in their financial dealings, demonstrating their ability to manage federal funds responsibly.

9. Seeking federal intervention: LGAs can seek federal intervention when state governments fail to release funds or interfere with their autonomy.

10. Strengthening federal-LGA relationships: Building strong relationships with federal government officials and agencies to ensure direct support and funding.

By taking these steps, LGAs can reduce their dependence on state governments and access federal funding directly, promoting greater autonomy and development.

FreeStuffsNG:



By Punch Editorial Board



https://punchng.com/supreme-court-got-it-wrong-on-lg-autonomy/

This is part of what I said some time ago

That the judgement was a good news from the Supreme Court, Hopefully, tomorrow will be the beginning of the freedom of LGs from the shackles of the State Governors

But sincerely, the Apex court jumped the gun on this matter of LGA allocation, because there is a law already in that constitution which states clearly the revenue must be paid in the state and LGA joint account but the Apex court by it judgement ask the executive to pay directly to the LGA. Which in itself is a bridge of the constitution. So would they now create a different account for the local government?

Because I think the National Assembly will have to make or amend the law(constitution) creating an account for the Local government in order for it to function, or the states governors will still have a hand on that funds. And if the governors are not also given or allowed to checkmate the Local government chairman, wouldn't they be owing and stealing money and not paying salaries like what happened before.

I think the state government should be allowed to also control and over see the local government area to some extent in other the local government and chairman and sit-up and function very well.

Technology can play a crucial role in aiding the process and ensuring transparency among the federal government, state governments, LGAs, and EFCC. Here's a proposed technology platform to achieve this:

1. *Unified Platform*: Develop a single, secure, and scalable technology platform for all stakeholders (federal government, state governments, LGAs, and EFCC).

2. *Data Management*: Implement a robust data management system to store and manage financial transactions, budgets, and reports from all stakeholders.

3. *Real-time Tracking*: Enable real-time tracking of funds and financial transactions across all levels of government.

4. *Transparency Portal*: Create a public-facing transparency portal for citizens to access information on government financial transactions, budgets, and reports.

5. *Secure Authentication*: Implement secure authentication and access controls to ensure only authorized personnel can access and manage data.

6. *Audit Trail*: Maintain a tamper-proof audit trail of all transactions, changes, and access to ensure accountability.

7. *Reporting and Analytics*: Provide real-time reporting and analytics tools for stakeholders to monitor and analyze financial data.

8. *Integration*: Ensure seamless integration with existing financial management systems and banks.

9. *Training and Support*: Offer comprehensive training and support for stakeholders to effectively utilize the platform.

10. *Regular Updates*: Regularly update the platform to address evolving needs and ensure alignment with global best practices.

Benefits:

- Enhanced transparency and accountability
- Improved financial management and tracking
- Increased efficiency and reduced corruption
- Better decision-making through data-driven insights
- Citizen engagement and participation
- Compliance with international standards

By leveraging technology, we can create a unified, transparent, and accountable system for managing public funds, promoting good governance, and fostering development.

Useless editorial

Very weak argument

Very well said.

FreeStuffsNG:
The State and Local Government Joint Account was created because council bosses were looting funds and not paying primary school teachers. Since that account was created, primary school teachers are no longer owed salaries. Sadly, paying the monthly allocation directly to the councils would not stop the diversion of council funds.

States should stop the illegal practice of dissolving elected councils and appointing caretaker committees. Local elections should be free, fair, and credible to ensure accountability.

The two paragraphs above are part of the inconsistencies in the Punch Editorial. In one breadth it blamed the LGs for owing primary school teachers and claimed that the problem was solved with the State-LGAs joint account while in another breadth it admitted that there is the problem of illegal dissolution of democratically elected LGA administration and replacement with caretaker committees funded from the joint account.

Another inconsistency is boxing federalism into a certain mould as if the independence of LGAs suddenly strips away the operation of true federalism. India and Brazil are bad examples because of their caste system against certain people and religions in their countries. The central government of Brazil is taking over indigenous lands by fiat while India's democracy doesn't pretend that it's a government of the Hindus by the Hindus for the Hindus so much that the central government can demolish Mosques and build Hindu temple to replace the Mosques. Which kind of federalism gives central government the authority to impose religion on a LG? That's no federalism and bad of the Punch to cite both Brazil and India.

The Supreme Court is in order by insisting that the LGAs democratically elected leaders can never be effective unless they enjoy financial autonomy. The constitution never denied or affirmed the LGAs financial autonomy so the SC is not wrong by recognizing that the same independence the federating States could exercise is because of their financial autonomy and same privilege should be extended to LGAs.

Primary School teachers were equally indicted too when it was discovered that many of them were always absent from work and many barely qualified to teach. That's the problem of TRCN that should ensure that only professional teachers in its national register are recruited , it's not entirely the fault of the LGAs. If the payment of primary school teachers will be a problem then their salaries should be deducted from source so that no LG executive will tamper with their salaries. The rest should be monitored by EFCC and NFIU. If possible build special courts to quickly prosecute and severely punish any corrupt LG official and/or traditional institution Head.

That state-LG joint account arrangement is nothing more than a piggy bank for some state Governors and that's the weapon they use to remove democratically elected LG executives and even strip the traditional institutions of funds and render them impotent ,so much that insecurity has taken over and some Community Heads and royal authorities are at the mercy of rich bandits,
cultists and criminals who can easily buy their loyalty by placing them on their payroll with the illicit funds from their crimes. In Edo state, there's already complaint by the Gov that the Oba is using cultists to collect ishakole to run its operation when it should be funded by the LGAs and not hiring alleged cultists he is now blaming for the insecurity in Benin.

May God bless Nigeria for ever! Check my signature for free stuffs!

Kenochi:
This punch editorial is saying a lot of things but not making sense
In one word,you condemn the Governors for dissolving democratically elected local government councils and in another breadth you say that council chairmen are irresponsible because they don't pay primary school teachers
The same article says that there are only two federating units but in another breadth,it says in the Nigerian Constitution it mentions and lists three federating units
This same article talks about America and Brazil,is there any rule that says that any country can't determine what structure of government would work for it
Is it not in this same country that Governors loot their states blind,should we now say that because Governors are corrupt,we should scarp states and bring back regions instead
Please this article is just playing to the gallery,and I don't blame them
In our 24 years of Democratic experience,we have seen our LGAs become a place used by Governors to settle their political touts and aides
The LGAs if truly functional is supposed to a place where future leaders are spotted,it creates avenues for councillors to be elected,the circle of political leadership starts from the bottom
Who says an LGA Chairman can't raise to be become the president if he performs well
Finally,all this talk of corruption must stop,LGA Chairpersons don't have immunity and any chairman that transfers his monthly allocations to the state would have himself to blame
What needs to be done is for the Govt., and the media to start sensitizing the public on the role of the LGAs
If all organs of Govt. are functioning,it will reduce the pressure on the Federal Government

To be honest una get time to respond to this propaganda sponsored by the state governors. The discerning mind will know that this article is nothing short of propaganda sponsored by the disgruntled state governors.
Nonetheless, this Supreme Court ruling on LG autonomy brouhaha is much ado about nothing. Because at the end of the day, since the LG chairmen have been corrupt, and they got power through unconstitutional means, not much will change. In fact, the governors will still be in control of LG funds.

Kobojunkie:
1. Abeg make you tell our people oo! The ruling by the Supreme Court— which I still hope it will reverse— contravenes, not interprets, the content of the constitution.

2. Not to add that the supposed suspension takes away power and control from the National and State Houses of Assembly in this case—subsections 4, 5,6, 7, and 8 of section 162 in this case — prescribed in the Constitution over the account.

3. This equally breaks the separation that currently exists between the 3 tiers of Government, handling direct control and power over the 3rd tier to the FG, thereby creating more problems for the people who elect them.

The same thing Tinubu himself took Obasanjo to the same Supreme Court and won. FG has no power to in LGA funds, so if they don't have powers according to that court ruling, who would now be signing and sharing to LGA if not States through joint account as prescribed in the constitution

FreeStuffsNG:



By Punch Editorial Board



https://punchng.com/supreme-court-got-it-wrong-on-lg-autonomy/

Whoever sponsored this punch editorial is ill-informed. No FACC money is disbursed to a non-federating unit. If the FACC disburses to LGAs then it means they are also federating units.

Jonjam269:

Read all the gibberish you wrote here shows you are confused and delusional, you are just ranting, grunting like pi.g, wailing like loser and peddling falsehood. Please seek professional help before you kpai yourself.

sophisticated Patient who suppoted a sharia lover wihout any known educational background back to back and still went ahead to support a useless drug sniffing fake certificate frog capping about confusion & delusion.

Sophisticated clowns are rampant in some Sophisticated Region.

Are we practicing true federalism?

FreeStuffsNG:
The State and Local Government Joint Account was created because council bosses were looting funds and not paying primary school teachers. Since that account was created, primary school teachers are no longer owed salaries. Sadly, paying the monthly allocation directly to the councils would not stop the diversion of council funds.

States should stop the illegal practice of dissolving elected councils and appointing caretaker committees. Local elections should be free, fair, and credible to ensure accountability.

The two paragraphs above are part of the inconsistencies in the Punch Editorial. In one breadth it blamed the LGs for owing primary school teachers and claimed that the problem was solved with the State-LGAs joint account while in another breadth it admitted that there is the problem of illegal dissolution of democratically elected LGA administration and replacement with caretaker committees funded from the joint account.

Another inconsistency is boxing federalism into a certain mould as if the independence of LGAs suddenly strips away the operation of true federalism. India and Brazil are bad examples because of their caste system against certain people and religions in their countries. The central government of Brazil is taking over indigenous lands by fiat while India's democracy doesn't pretend that it's a government of the Hindus by the Hindus for the Hindus so much that the central government can demolish Mosques and build Hindu temple to replace the Mosques. Which kind of federalism gives central government the authority to impose religion on a LG? That's no federalism and bad of the Punch to cite both Brazil and India.

The Supreme Court is in order by insisting that the LGAs democratically elected leaders can never be effective unless they enjoy financial autonomy. The constitution never denied or affirmed the LGAs financial autonomy so the SC is not wrong by recognizing that the same independence the federating States could exercise is because of their financial autonomy and same privilege should be extended to LGAs.

Primary School teachers were equally indicted too when it was discovered that many of them were always absent from work and many barely qualified to teach. That's the problem of TRCN that should ensure that only professional teachers in its national register are recruited , it's not entirely the fault of the LGAs. If the payment of primary school teachers will be a problem then their salaries should be deducted from source so that no LG executive will tamper with their salaries. The rest should be monitored by EFCC and NFIU. If possible build special courts to quickly prosecute and severely punish any corrupt LG official and/or traditional institution Head.

That state-LG joint account arrangement is nothing more than a piggy bank for some state Governors and that's the weapon they use to remove democratically elected LG executives and even strip the traditional institutions of funds and render them impotent ,so much that insecurity has taken over and some Community Heads and royal authorities are at the mercy of rich bandits,
cultists and criminals who can easily buy their loyalty by placing them on their payroll with the illicit funds from their crimes. In Edo state, there's already complaint by the Gov that the Oba is using cultists to collect ishakole to run its operation when it should be funded by the LGAs and not hiring alleged cultists he is now blaming for the insecurity in Benin.

May God bless Nigeria for ever! Check my signature for free stuffs!

Do you actually know the meaning of a Federal system of govt? We need a restructured or proper federal system.
I will tell u for free that this supreme Court judgement will not solve any Problems at the LG level, because LGA in Nigeria are the least effective, least efficient, very incompetent and are as corrupt as other tiers of govt.
The state govts will simply devise creative means to control the LG

Where were you when they got it wrong.

The punch article highlights the good and evil outcomes of LG autonomy or lack of and its partial existence under state power

FreeStuffsNG:
The State and Local Government Joint Account was created because council bosses were looting funds and not paying primary school teachers. Since that account was created, primary school teachers are no longer owed salaries. Sadly, paying the monthly allocation directly to the councils would not stop the diversion of council funds.

States should stop the illegal practice of dissolving elected councils and appointing caretaker committees. Local elections should be free, fair, and credible to ensure accountability.

The two paragraphs above are part of the inconsistencies in the Punch Editorial. In one breadth it blamed the LGs for owing primary school teachers and claimed that the problem was solved with the State-LGAs joint account while in another breadth it admitted that there is the problem of illegal dissolution of democratically elected LGA administration and replacement with caretaker committees funded from the joint account.

Another inconsistency is boxing federalism into a certain mould as if the independence of LGAs suddenly strips away the operation of true federalism. India and Brazil are bad examples because of their caste system against certain people and religions in their countries. The central government of Brazil is taking over indigenous lands by fiat while India's democracy doesn't pretend that it's a government of the Hindus by the Hindus for the Hindus so much that the central government can demolish Mosques and build Hindu temple to replace the Mosques. Which kind of federalism gives central government the authority to impose religion on a LG? That's no federalism and bad of the Punch to cite both Brazil and India.

The Supreme Court is in order by insisting that the LGAs democratically elected leaders can never be effective unless they enjoy financial autonomy. The constitution never denied or affirmed the LGAs financial autonomy so the SC is not wrong by recognizing that the same independence the federating States could exercise is because of their financial autonomy and same privilege should be extended to LGAs.

Primary School teachers were equally indicted too when it was discovered that many of them were always absent from work and many barely qualified to teach. That's the problem of TRCN that should ensure that only professional teachers in its national register are recruited , it's not entirely the fault of the LGAs. If the payment of primary school teachers will be a problem then their salaries should be deducted from source so that no LG executive will tamper with their salaries. The rest should be monitored by EFCC and NFIU. If possible build special courts to quickly prosecute and severely punish any corrupt LG official and/or traditional institution Head.

That state-LG joint account arrangement is nothing more than a piggy bank for some state Governors and that's the weapon they use to remove democratically elected LG executives and even strip the traditional institutions of funds and render them impotent ,so much that insecurity has taken over and some Community Heads and royal authorities are at the mercy of rich bandits,
cultists and criminals who can easily buy their loyalty by placing them on their payroll with the illicit funds from their crimes. In Edo state, there's already complaint by the Gov that the Oba is using cultists to collect ishakole to run its operation when it should be funded by the LGAs and not hiring alleged cultists he is now blaming for the insecurity in Benin.

May God bless Nigeria for ever! Check my signature for free stuffs!

Beautiful. The Punch editorial inconsistencies and solutions were accurately identified and postulated. Nothing more to add.

Pls, someone should come to my aid, I'm hungary

8081680534 palmpay

Thanks in anticipation

Mohisah:
Lot of lines but not making sense o..

In whichever way, don't be hired by sm Gov'nors to kip sayin dis.

LG should n must be on their own, i dont care fr constitution, let's get it right by living fine. The issue of hunger-strike must stop. You may not know what percentage salary is til u enter sm states wer LG staff are being paid 5k out of 30k, 20k out 150k etc😑💔

Every Nigerian knows you don't care about the constitution.

Your thought processes from that region are well known by sane Nigerians. You like rascality, agberoism, disrespect for the rule of law, due dilligence etc.

You just confirmed all what I said before.

The fight is over oil money because all tiers of government have their constitutional revenue sources which can hardly be contested with them. A local government collecting tenement, TV, radio licenses, signage and produce tax can not have its revenue disturbed by any entity.

Punch editorial is however right that the military constitution is the foundation of the problem. Many States (not including Lagos) are stifling democracy at the local government level by not conducting elections at all and that is the problem. If not that the LG chairmen must obey who put them there, then an opposition member that won LG chairmanship election will not agree with the state to take its revenue and the state will pay along with damages if it gets to court. It is straight forward.

Why there is no complaint in Lagos is probably because the local governments there end up with more than what was sent to them from the federal.

As it is now, it is better to delist the local governments from the constitution and let states be fully in charge of creating local governments while local governments generate their revenue as approved by the constitution or wait for allocations from states as is customary in Nigeria.

The number of states too would not have been rigid in a constitution written by civilians.

It must be noted that even states do not have a right to the revenue they are collecting from the federal purse. It belongs to the federal. Their own is PAYE. However when oil money becomes irrelevant the direction of allocation payment will change.

Wetin punch newspaper dey write self? Three tiers of government is what we operate n while two have rights to financial independence, the 3rd one dont have....is that what they call wrong move from the FG?

should there be anything like joint account with states and LGAs? Why hasn't the FG and states have a joint account too?

Punch newspapers from my own view and others who understand real democracy, the supreme court ruling is on the right track!

Villagesquare:
I have been saying this and nobody cares to listen. What we need now is a true fiscal Federal System or even a restructured Federal System. Decentralized power is highly needed now

bla bla bla, the point is that, they have given the president the power over the governors, what if the LGAs do nt follow the directive of the president nko, like nt in the same party as they are ? They are nt even on their own again

A newspaper editor who never sat for any examination in law school is the one who got it right?

They play

Intellectual fraud. We all know you didnt write this. Give credit to the source you lifted it from.

FreeStuffsNG:
The State and Local Government Joint Account was created because council bosses were looting funds and not paying primary school teachers. Since that account was created, primary school teachers are no longer owed salaries. Sadly, paying the monthly allocation directly to the councils would not stop the diversion of council funds.

States should stop the illegal practice of dissolving elected councils and appointing caretaker committees. Local elections should be free, fair, and credible to ensure accountability.

The two paragraphs above are part of the inconsistencies in the Punch Editorial. In one breadth it blamed the LGs for owing primary school teachers and claimed that the problem was solved with the State-LGAs joint account while in another breadth it admitted that there is the problem of illegal dissolution of democratically elected LGA administration and replacement with caretaker committees funded from the joint account.

Another inconsistency is boxing federalism into a certain mould as if the independence of LGAs suddenly strips away the operation of true federalism. India and Brazil are bad examples because of their caste system against certain people and religions in their countries. The central government of Brazil is taking over indigenous lands by fiat while India's democracy doesn't pretend that it's a government of the Hindus by the Hindus for the Hindus so much that the central government can demolish Mosques and build Hindu temple to replace the Mosques. Which kind of federalism gives central government the authority to impose religion on a LG? That's no federalism and bad of the Punch to cite both Brazil and India.

The Supreme Court is in order by insisting that the LGAs democratically elected leaders can never be effective unless they enjoy financial autonomy. The constitution never denied or affirmed the LGAs financial autonomy so the SC is not wrong by recognizing that the same independence the federating States could exercise is because of their financial autonomy and same privilege should be extended to LGAs.

Primary School teachers were equally indicted too when it was discovered that many of them were always absent from work and many barely qualified to teach. That's the problem of TRCN that should ensure that only professional teachers in its national register are recruited , it's not entirely the fault of the LGAs. If the payment of primary school teachers will be a problem then their salaries should be deducted from source so that no LG executive will tamper with their salaries. The rest should be monitored by EFCC and NFIU. If possible build special courts to quickly prosecute and severely punish any corrupt LG official and/or traditional institution Head.

That state-LG joint account arrangement is nothing more than a piggy bank for some state Governors and that's the weapon they use to remove democratically elected LG executives and even strip the traditional institutions of funds and render them impotent ,so much that insecurity has taken over and some Community Heads and royal authorities are at the mercy of rich bandits,
cultists and criminals who can easily buy their loyalty by placing them on their payroll with the illicit funds from their crimes. In Edo state, there's already complaint by the Gov that the Oba is using cultists to collect ishakole to run its operation when it should be funded by the LGAs and not hiring alleged cultists he is now blaming for the insecurity in Benin.

May God bless Nigeria for ever! Check my signature for free stuffs!

Kenochi:
This punch editorial is saying a lot of things but not making sense
In one word,you condemn the Governors for dissolving democratically elected local government councils and in another breadth you say that council chairmen are irresponsible because they don't pay primary school teachers
The same article says that there are only two federating units but in another breadth,it says in the Nigerian Constitution it mentions and lists three federating units
This same article talks about America and Brazil,is there any rule that says that any country can't determine what structure of government would work for it
Is it not in this same country that Governors loot their states blind,should we now say that because Governors are corrupt,we should scarp states and bring back regions instead
Please this article is just playing to the gallery,and I don't blame them
In our 24 years of Democratic experience,we have seen our LGAs become a place used by Governors to settle their political touts and aides
The LGAs if truly functional is supposed to a place where future leaders are spotted,it creates avenues for councillors to be elected,the circle of political leadership starts from the bottom
Who says an LGA Chairman can't raise to be become the president if he performs well
Finally,all this talk of corruption must stop,LGA Chairpersons don't have immunity and any chairman that transfers his monthly allocations to the state would have himself to blame
What needs to be done is for the Govt., and the media to start sensitizing the public on the role of the LGAs
If all organs of Govt. are functioning,it will reduce the pressure on the Federal Government

the punch editorial is playing the devil advocate, which is understandable, while I support the LG autonomy, based on the excesses of the state government, the LG themselves still needs oversight too, which makes the argument go both ways, I guess what the punch is trying to say is that the constitution which is supreme does not recognize the LG as a tier of government, if that is the case then the supreme court does not have the right to grant the LG autonomy, if the govt thought it was necessary to grant autonomy to the LG they should have done so through the national assembly by amending the constitution, and not by a ruling by the supreme court who has no power to alter the constitution.

The Supreme Court erred in its judgement as the LGs have no place in a federal constitution. Therefore, one of the fundamental flaws of the 1999 Constitution is to list the 774 LGs in it. This must be corrected.

This is way off mark!

The Punch editorial is of the notion that "LGs have no place in a Federal constitution." that's to say that in all the Federal constitutions around the world, there are no provision for LGs? Are federal constitutions not tailored according to the peculiarities within each geographical locations?

Emotional kids here can't read in between the lines
They don't know what this ruling portends for the South in the future especially under a Northern presidency
Funny how Thief.nubu, an awawa Awoist, is the one destroying the little semblance of federalism that we have
Sophistication at its peak
Make we Igbos hustle our Biafra
This is the beginning of the end
God bless Punch

You nailed it. Nigeria's formation was quite different from that of the United States and we should never assume runnings of both countries must be identical despite having federal system of govt. It should be tailored to our peculiar formation or historical experience, in order words, what is best suited for us.

FreeStuffsNG:
Thanks for sharing and going through the view confirm that it is the definition of federalism drawn from the US experience and its history where the sovereign was formed by the federating units. At the signing, only the Heads of the states were represented because the counties/ LGs had given their rights to be exercised by their State Heads.

In Nigeria, not even at Independence were the states represented so we had no state uniting to form Nigeria. We had regions so if we were to go by the American definition of federalism, we should have the regions not states so it is the states that should now be the equivalent of the LGs. Also, as at 1999 constitution, we already had a strong LGA system so they can not be ignored like those of US.

This is the significant historical difference between our own federalism and that of US that the Punch is ignoring and you can't fault an American university by drawing its definition from the American history.
It's like comparing democracy in US with that of UK. What UK operates is still largely monarchy through the powerful unelected House of Lords yet the UK pretends to be among countries practicing democracy.


The Nigerian constitution never intends that the State-LGAs joint account should be controlled by Governors. In fact, the Legislature should have more oversight but some Governors have cornered all the powers and made a mess of the separation of powers. That's why the Governors lost at the SC. I don't see a single part of the Constitution where a Governor derived the power to collect and now distribute. They (both state and LGAs) should collect together and share together but in reality, it is the Governors, who collect and who share.

descartes400:


This is way off mark!

The Punch editorial is of the notion that "LGs have no place in a Federal constitution." that's to say that in all the Federal constitutions around the world, there are no provision for LGs? Are federal constitutions not tailored according to the peculiarities within each geographical locations?

Did we have local governments under Abacha?

This was the same thing Ibori said last week but some mugus were calling for his head

lionshare:
Seems the editorial board does not know nothing is static in life. Yes it’s true a federal system should’ve two federating units but nothing is cast in stone. If we can have Nigerian jollof why can’t we have our own version of federalism as long as it delivers value to the masses.

Besides we can work around ensuring payments of salary to all accredited staff as first line charge prior to any other expense. We must continually tinker with the systems to find what’s most ideal for our people.

Lastly, they’ve offered no solution to the governors sipping the financial juice of the joint account. What’s we need to do now is more sensitization of the local communities to understand that their role in ensuring that LGA leaders are accountable.

Are you trying to defend the "food is ready come and take" kind of government?
A system that allows laziness at grassroot
A system that rob people of ingenuity and creativity...
That shows how bereft of reality you are sir.
What thrives the economy and growth is where there's healthy competition in resource control management and development from grassroot.
The FG should concentrate on the exclusive list and allow regions to generate and manage their resources