Former Ekiti State Governor and ex-Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Kayode Fayemi, has criticised the concept of local government autonomy as a misnomer and an aberration in a federal system.
Speaking at the launch of the St. Racheal’s People Consulting 2024 Leadership and Economic Summit-1.0 in Lagos, Fayemi expressed strong reservations about the efficacy of recent federal moves to enforce financial autonomy for local governments.
The summit, themed “Economic Prosperity: Secrets of Audacious Leaders,” was held on Thursday night, where Fayemi, also a former Minister of Mines and Steel Development and a visiting Professor at the African Leadership Centre, argued that recent federal actions, including a Supreme Court ruling favouring local government autonomy, are misguided.
Fayemi questioned the practicality of these measures, asserting, “We cannot return to a unitary state. But unfortunately, we are gradually going back to a unitary form of government even though it is being dressed up as restructuring.
“The President (Bola Tinubu) is a federalist, he is a leader in my party, we share quite a lot in common, but I do not know any federal entity anywhere in the world where the federal government becomes the driver of what happens in the local government.
“It does not happen anywhere in the world and the Nigerian Constitution in Section 2 is very clear that Nigeria is a federation of the federal (central government) and the state. It is not three-tier.”
He further criticised the Federal Government’s approach, stating that no federal system globally positions the central government as the driving force behind local government operations.
According to Fayemi, the Nigerian Constitution, particularly Section 2, clearly defines Nigeria as a federation consisting of federal and state tiers, not three tiers.
He described the characterization of local governments as the third tier of government as a display of ignorance.
“Federalism is a principle of dual federation units,” Fayemi elaborated, “In federal systems worldwide—whether in India, the U.S., Canada, or Australia—the states or provinces have the autonomy to determine their own local administrative units based on local needs.
“It is now up to the state to determine whether it wants to have 20 counties, or 50 or 200 local authorities based on its own local needs. This is a misnomer, it does not happen anywhere in the world.
“With this latest strategy, I assure you, in the first instance, I don’t see how workable it is; it not going to work.
“This is not the solution, we are unitarising the country instead of decentralising the country. If we can address this problem that we have all identified, we will see that Nigeria will be better.”
He insisted that the new strategy to enforce local government autonomy is unlikely to succeed, suggesting it could lead to further centralization rather than genuine decentralization.
Fayemi also argued that addressing Nigeria’s significant challenges, such as security and energy, requires localized solutions.
He emphasised, “We cannot solve all the problems from Abuja. If we address the issues of electricity and security effectively at the local level, Nigeria will thrive.”
Fayemi’s critique follows a Supreme Court ruling on July 11, which granted financial autonomy to local governments in response to a suit by the Federal Government challenging state governors’ alleged interference with local councils’ administration.
