The International Training Research and Advocacy Project (ITRAP) says Nigeria cannot address the issue of local government autonomy without first addressing the joint account issue between states and council areas.
McPhalane Ejah, Country Director, ITRAP, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Calabar while speaking on local government autonomy in Nigeria.
The country director, who is also a member of Chatham House, noted that the Nigerian constitution still had a section which allowed for a joint account between the state’s and local government councils.
He said this made it difficult for the councils to be truly autonomous and carry out development programmes which are their priorities.
“Until that part of the Constitution is repealed or amended, every other thing we are doing is an academic exercise.
“This is because as a nation, we keep going superficially trying to change things that the political class don’t really want to change,” he said.
He noted that the process of amending the constitution on the issue of council autonomy did not start today.
Ejah added that it was expected that two-thirds of the state houses of assembly would vote in favour or against the amendment.
While noting that this had not been done or concluded, he added that the present administration of Bola Tinubu merely directed, following a Supreme Court judgement, that allocation accruing to the councils be paid directly to their accounts.
According to him, this is not an amendment because the bill has to go round the 36 states and be supported by the people before it becomes a law.
“What we did was an executive attempt to make local governments get their money directly, but this will not work because the provisions of the Supreme Court judgment do not supersede the constitution,” he stated.
