Agora Policy, partners host dialogue on enthroning accountability in Nigeria’s local councils

An array of critical stakeholders will meet in Abuja on Monday to deliberate on deepening accountability, democracy and good governance in Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) at a policy conversation convened by Agora Policy and five partners.

The policy conversation is organised in response to the 11 July ruling of the Supreme Court, which authorised direct disbursement of federation allocations to the local councils and affirmed that it is illegal for LGAs to be run by caretaker committees appointed by state governors.

Put together with the support of the MacArthur Foundation, the policy conversation is designed to tease out practical ways of ensuring that the implementation of the apex court decision translates to positive change in local government administration across the country and, ultimately, to significant improvement in citizens’ welfare.

The event is organised by Agora Policy, an Abuja-based think tank, in partnership with the BudgIT Foundation, Yiaga Africa, the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity, Premium Times and The Cable.

The theme is “Enthroning Accountability in Local Governance in Nigeria.”

“Our considered view is that while financial autonomy to the LGAs is not a bad thing, that by itself might not change much if it is not undergirded by robust accountability mechanisms,” says Waziri Adio, the founder of Agora Policy.

“Financial autonomy should not be an end by itself but a means to more effective governance, deeper democracy and better service delivery at the local level. However, it does not appear to be an automatic link between direct federation allocation to the LGAs and the improved performance that we expect. It is therefore important to spend time in identifying and thinking about how to emplace the other things that are needed to achieve more effective, more responsive and more impactful governance at the tier of government closest to the people.”

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The policy conversation will feature dissection and deliberation on issues such as the state of local government administration and elections, the constraints and pathways to optimal performance in local councils, mechanisms for deepening participatory, accountable and inclusive governance at the local level, and best practices from within and outside the country on local governance and citizens’ engagement.

At the core of the deliberation will be a panel session featuring the following: Aminu Maifata, the national president of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON); Remi Aiyede, a professor of political institutions, good governance and public