Nigeria’s Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, has called on state houses of assembly to ratify the bill which seeks to grant autonomy and devolution of powers to the LGAs in the country.
Osinbanjo said on Friday while delivering a lecture at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS) in Jos.
In March, the Senate and House of Representatives passed the bill to grant financial autonomy to LGAs across the country.
Osinbajo, who was represented by Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, said local authorities play key roles in nation-building but lamented that the third tier of government had, over time, been neglected and undervalued.
He noted that the ongoing constitutional amendment seeking to allocate more powers to the local governments is a step in the right direction.
“While the roles of state governments and their scope of authority appear very well appreciated, local governments remain, in my view, quite undervalued, needing more attention from all of us, better funding, organisational and high-quality leadership,” he said.
“As we speak, a bill for local government autonomy is striving hard to pass the threshold of 24 votes required from state houses of assembly, a key milestone towards its passage.
“I believe that efforts being made, through the ongoing constitutional amendment, to cede more responsibilities for control and management of resources to local governments across the country reflect our understanding of how crucial it has become for this tier of government to take full charge of their responsibilities and functions at optimal capacity.
“After all, it is often argued that local government is closest to the people and best placed to impact on their lives.”
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