Financial autonomy for LGs: NLC commends National Assembly over bill

The Nigeria Labour Congress has commended the National Assembly for the bill to grant Local Government Financial Autonomy, which has scaled through its second reading.
Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, the NLC General Secretary, gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday.
Ozo-Eson said the autonomy, if granted to local councils, would ensure better service delivery to the people.
It will be recalled that on November 2, a bill to grant financial autonomy to local government councils in the country, scaled through the second reading in the House of Representatives.
The bill, sponsored by Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, seeks to amend Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution.
NAN reports that Section 162 provides for the State Joint Local Government Account, into which all revenues accruing to the local governments from the federal and state governments are paid.
Ozo-Eson said that NLC had over time called for the autonomy of the local governments.
He said that local government was the closest to the people and therefore must be empowered to deliver services to the people.
Ozo-Eson said: “One thing that is clearly undermining the capacity of local government to function is the over bearing presence or authority of the state governor, particularly the joint account issue.
“Therefore, financial autonomy is something we believe in, and we think should be institutionalised so that the local government can function properly.
“The only thing that we have also pointed out is that the payment of teachers’ salary should be given a first charge.
“Once these two things are reconciled, we are for Local Government Financial autonomy.”
Ozo-Eson reiterated that the joint account by state and local government should be abolished and councils should be given financial autonomy.