Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo’s enactment of the Anambra Local Government Management Act 2024 on Tuesday has come under a series of criticisms.
Speaking at a press conference before the signing of the bill at the Governor’s Lodge in Awka, Soludo maintained that the Supreme Court’s judgment does not invalidate Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution, Naija News reported.
The state House of Assembly approved the bill titled “Anambra Local Government Management Act 2024” in its plenary session last Tuesday.
In his remarks, Sordo clarified that the law was enacted because he believed that giving full autonomy to the 774 municipalities would create “enormous chaos” and hinder sustainable development.
The governor argued that Article 7 of the Constitution empowers state governments to enact laws that enable them to govern local governments throughout the country.
He stressed that the two bills passed by the state legislature are aimed at promoting consistency, increasing transparency and fostering cooperation between different levels of government.
Opposition’s view
However, the signing of the law has raised concerns among civil society groups and opponents who have criticized the passage of the Local Government Management Bill.
Opponents see this as an attempt by the governor to force local government chairs to return federal allocations to the states.
Among those who expressed concerns about the new law was Damien Hugo, a member of the state’s Labor Party, who said: “The LG’s signature goes against the Supreme Court’s ruling.”
“This bill is designed to arm-twist the Speakers into sending local government allocations received directly from the federal government back to state coffers.
“Therefore, as a political party, we support the Supreme Court’s decision regarding local government autonomy and the management of their funds.
“Consistent with the Supreme Court’s current orders, state legislatures cannot enact laws that compel local governments to pay federal appropriations under any name to the federal government.”
Dr. Ralph Uche, executive director of the Civil Rights and Freedom Organization, also objected, calling his signature on the bill “anti-people,” which aims to deny local government councils funding for grassroots development. said.
“This bill seeks to force local governments to transfer a portion of their federal allocations to state-controlled linked accounts, which is a wrong development,” Uche said.
The Supreme Court did not invalidate Article 7 of the Constitution – Soludo
At a press conference after signing the bill on Tuesday, Governor Soludo said the Supreme Court’s ruling on LG autonomy does not invalidate Article 7 of the Constitution.
He said the two new laws by the government were consequential and did not undermine the Supreme Court’s judgment, but gave it validity.
Sordo said: “The debate as to whether local governments should be part of the federal constitution or whether each federal unit (province) should be left to decide on its own appropriate local government system is still an open question.” ” he said.
“The APC Committee on the Restructuring of Nigeria has proposed the abolition of local government from the Nigerian Constitution.
“In the context of our evolving federalism, the recent Supreme Court decision on the direct transfer of funds belonging to local governments is an important contribution to the quest for effective and transparent resource management at the local level. That’s what I think.
“This is where Section 7 of the Constitution comes in handy and the Anambra State House of Assembly rose to the occasion.Fortunately, the Supreme Court did not strike down Section 7 of the Constitution.
“The new law by the Anambra House of Assembly, therefore, gives validity to the judgment of the Supreme Court and does not undermine it.
“If the Legislature waives this constitutional obligation, local governments will be left without the laws regarding the use and management of their finances that the Constitution gives the Legislature (and only the Legislature) to legislate.”
“In fact, in many states, legislatures retain the power to suspend or remove local government chairs.
“By the way, aren’t the legislative powers exercised by the state legislatures under Article 7 of the Constitution similar to the powers vested in them by the Constitution over the Federal Capital Territory and its regional legislatures?”
The Governor emphasized that a key element to achieving sustainable development at the grassroots level is establishing structured cooperation between different levels of government.
He pointed out that no government at any level operates completely independently.
He further stated that without active cooperation and coordination between state and local governments, many local governments may find themselves in severe financial distress and require financial assistance from state governments. Ta.
“While the federal government has exclusive rights to resources, states have exclusive rights to land. At the state level, each state spends huge amounts of money in revenue.
“No tier of government can function without the cooperation of others. The three tiers have the objectives of the people. The FG is not completely independent of the state. It’s a cooperative arrangement.
“The new law in Anambra is aimed at protecting the LG from collapse, protecting the workers and preventing the collapse of primary health care. , I don’t want to hear that other local governments aren’t paying salaries.
“With these laws, workers and retirees of the LG system in Anambra can sleep with both eyes closed. All layers must cooperate, coordinate and work with each other. In summary, the laws It ensures that the nation functions in unity.
“The whole point of collecting money is not for the governor to put it into his own pocket. If one day the LG wakes up and can’t pay his salary or gratuities, who will mediate?
“That’s the great thing these laws can get around. It’s designed to unleash creativity and innovative accountability and ingenuity in LG. The Constitution requires that both the state and local governments work together to It mandates the creation of a national plan.
“We have agreed to send the money directly to LG, which will encourage more participation. But then, if the money gets there, who will exercise oversight over it? How are you going to spend it so that the system does not collapse and you end up in a chaotic situation, so to speak? The essence of this law is to plan the state in a coherent, systematic and sustainable way.” the governor added.
However, Sordo denied public insinuations that the governors had the LG chairman sign a secret pledge allowing the transfer of LG funds to the state, insisting that such a thing never happened. did.
He said: “Governors are often accused of trying to ‘manage’ LG funds, implying that they are being mismanaged.
“Of course, in a society where public office is seen as just ‘dinner’ and public trust is low, people judge others by their own standards, that is, what they would do if they held that office. “What is this control for?”
