The governor of Oyo state, Seyi Makinde has informed the administration of president Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the Federal government of Nigeria is not “superior” to its state components.
Seyi Makinde in a now trending video from the Oyo state executive council meeting, stated that the federal government will not be allowed to dictate how the federating 36 states should be run. The governor was reacting to the recent supreme court ruling which granted financial autonomy to the 774 local government councils of the federation.
Seyi Makinde claims that the supreme court ruling contradicts the constitution of the Federal government of Nigeria. According to him, the Oyo state government under his leadership, will device a ‘home made” solution for the “lacuna” created by the supreme court ruling rather than abide by the ruling.
In a groundbreaking ruling described by some political analysts as an event of “liberation” of the local government councils from the grip and control of state governors, the supreme court of Nigeria held that the Federal government allocation should go directly to the elected local government councils chairpersons to ensure financial autonomy of the local councils. Prior to the ruling, the state governors since Nigeria’s return to civil rule in 1999, received the local government councils allocation from the federal government instead of the local government councils elected chairmen.
In an attempt to ensure absolute control over the local government councils in their states, some state governors rather than conduct local government councils elections to ensure the emergence of local council chairpersons, constitute administrative committee or appoint a director to oversee the affairs of the local government councils on their behalf.
Hence, the current supreme court ruling on the financial autonomy of the local government councils is perceived by some state governors as a calculated attempt by the federal government to trim their influence over the local councils in the state.
Also, the Nigeria national assembly is currently deliberating a bill to strip local government councils elections from the state government. The bill seeks to make the Independent National Electoral Commission directly responsible for the planning and conduction of local government council elections across the states of the federation.
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