2 months ago
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Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, has expressed skepticism about the impact of the recent Supreme Court ruling on local government allocation.
According to Odinkalu, state governors will continue to reclaim these funds.
Speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Odinkalu commented on the Supreme Court’s judgment, which addressed the Federal Government’s suit against the 36 state governors concerning local government autonomy.
Recall the apex court on Thursday, ruled that it is unconstitutional for state governors to withhold funds designated for local government administrations.
Odinkalu, however, argued that the judgment merely changes the process through which governors access the funds, noting that governors install local government chairmen through rigged elections to ensure their control over the allocations.
“A local chairman who has been installed in a rigged election controlled entirely by the governor will give the fund back to the governor. What this person is going to do is to collect the money and hand it back to the governor. So, all they are doing is altering the sequence by which the money will go back to the governor. But the money still goes back to the governor,” Odinkalu explained.
He emphasized that the core issue lies in the mandate structure established by the Supreme Court, which places control in the hands of politicians rather than the people. “Until we address this, we are wasting time and efforts,” he said.
Odinkalu also referenced historical precedent, citing President Bola Tinubu’s experience as the governor of Lagos State when then-President Obasanjo withheld funds. He suggested that such political maneuvering is cyclical and will eventually come full circle.
“If they said that they will not give money to caretaker chairmen, the president (Bola Tinubu) went through the same thing with Obasanjo. Obasanjo held up their money when he (Tinubu) was the governor of Lagos State.
“If that is the consequence they want to live with, they want to afflict others with, we live by the swing of the pendulum. It may take one decade or 20 years, but it will turn around,” Odinkalu concluded.
English (US) ·