Some stakeholders in Bwari Area Council in the FCT have charged local government chairmen to perform adequately and bring broader development to the grassroots.
The stakeholders gave the charge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Saturday in Abuja.
They lauded the Supreme Court’s judgment, granting full autonomy to local government chairmen in the country.
NAN reports that the Supreme Court affirmed the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s 774 local governments in a unanimous judgment of its seven-member panel on Thursday.
The court upheld the suit brought by the federal government to strengthen the independence of local governments in the country.
Mr Emmanuel Ishaku, chairman, National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Bwari chapter, commending the federal government, said that he expected the local authorities to put in their best.
“They may not be able to meet all the demands of the people because ’human wants are insatiable’ and resources may be limited but I expect them to do better than they used to.
“They will not have the grounds to hide under the guise of either the state government or FCT administration’s delay of allocations but be left to carry their cross.
“The LGAs will have nobody to blame, except of course, delay from the federal government.
“If they perform poorly, they will be held responsible directly, however, we are hopeful that they will do better and give in their best performance,” Ishaku said.
Similarly, Mr John Awoyi, president, Bwari Youth Forum, described the court verdict as victory for democracy, adding that as much was given, much was expected of the chairmen.
Awoyi said that with the development, the local authorities could now maintain and sustain development in their various areas after paying salaries of workers, and not experiencing delays like in the past.
He said: “At least, the reason for creating local governments and councils in the FCT can be retraced; that is, meeting the needs of the people in the areas of education, health and agriculture.
“The authorities can now be well structured, because these chairmen are closer to the grassroots, we can now meet and fault them directly for any delay of governance or nonperformance.
“I pray that the funds will be used judiciously by the local authorities. I am hoping that they do not divert the fund for luxury outside the country but invest on the people as dividends of democracy,’’he said.
A civil servant, Alhaji Ahmed Jingina, said it was his prayer that the new development would improve on the livelihood of residents of the various rural areas.
Jingina, who described the judgment as long overdue, also prayed that the local authorities would not take the powers for granted and misuse it.
He urged the local government chairmen to justify the freedom to control the funds to benefit the people and bring about development at the grassroots, so that they would not shoot themselves on the feet.
NAN reports that the verdict by the Supreme Court empowers the Accountant-General of the Federation to bypass the state governments in the monthly disbursement of federal allocations to the local governments. (NAN)
