Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has warned that granting full autonomy to Nigeria’s 774 local government areas could lead to “humongous chaos,” arguing that such a move would not result in sustainable development.
He made this statement on Tuesday at the Governor’s Lodge in Amawbia, Awka, after signing the Anambra State Local Government Administration Law.
The law, titled “Anambra Local Government Administration Law 2024,” was passed by the State House of Assembly last Thursday.
Soludo emphasised that Section 7 of the constitution empowers state governments to enact laws for the administration of local government areas, underscoring the importance of state oversight.
He said, “The absolute autonomy to the 774 local government areas in the country is an impossibility. In fact, it is a recipe for humongous chaos. The attendant challenges before the issue of local government autonomy are such that would certainly deepen the fate of the system and spell doom for the expected beneficiaries of the process if not well planned.”
Soludo explained that the new legislation aims to ensure consistency, transparency, and collaboration among the different tiers of government.
He stated, “The new laws by Anambra House of Assembly are therefore consequential to give operational life to the Supreme Court judgment and not to undermine it. If the State House of Assembly abdicates this constitutional duty, the Local Government will then have no law on the use and management of its finance.”
He argued that collaboration between state and local governments is crucial, warning that many local governments could face financial crises without proper coordination, potentially requiring state bailouts.
Soludo added, “The Federal Government has exclusive rights over resources, but the state has exclusive rights over the land. At the state level, each state is spending a fortune on its revenue.
“No tier of government can function without the collaboration of others. The three tiers have the objective of the people. The FG is not completely autonomous of the state. It’s a collaborative arrangement to achieve the same objective.”
The governor also addressed allegations that state governors force local government chairmen to transfer funds to the state, dismissing them as unfounded.
“Governors are often accused of seeking to ‘control’ LG funds with insinuations that LG funds are mismanaged. Of course, in a society where public office is seen as ‘dining table’ and public trust is low, people judge others by their own standards,” he said.
