No less than 21 governors in Nigeria have refused to conduct local government elections in their states, influencing the call for the council's autonomy, which is even supported by the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government.
As reported by The Punch, the governors of these states are running the local council affairs with caretaker committees they appointed.
The governors' actions are contrary to Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution, which mandated that the affairs of local government in Nigeria must be governed with elec
Currently, Nigeria has 774 local government areas across the country, and they are meant to serve as the third tier of government.
The call for the council's autonomy has increased recently, and President Tinubu has never hidden his support for it. In May, the federal government approached the Supreme Court with a suit seeking to compel the 36 governors in the country to allow the local governments to operate in their domain with full autonomy.
At the moment, the LGs receive 20.60 per cent of the country’s monthly revenue, as shared by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission; states get 26.72 per cent, and the federal government 52.68 per cent.
The revenue was domiciled under the presidency and shared by the Federation Account Allocation Committee.
However, the local council funds were paid into a joint account operated by the LGs and the state governments they operated.
Source: Legit.ng