Politics
ALGON And Four-Year Tenure Push
Of the three tiers of government operational in Nigeria, the local government administration is the one established to cater for the most basic needs and obligations owed to the people by the overall administration of the country.
Take away the local government set up and there are several millions of Nigerians who would never know nor feel the impact of government. Indeed, several millions would never realise the full extent of citizenship and the duties and benefits therein but for the existence of the local government system.
For a vast number of Nigerians, the highest and, sometimes, the only government official or operative within their vicinity is the councillor while their only hope of receiving any form of government assistance or support lies with the local government administration.
The importance of this level of government, therefore, cannot be over-emphasised while its seeming relegation in the scheme of things in the country will continue to be the subject of spirited discourse by discerning and well-meaning citizens.
Perhaps, it is in the light of this that the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), the umbrella body of the leadership of the 774 local government councils in Nigeria, is pressing for a more effective, better organised, more result-oriented and independent system that can deliver on its mandate without let or hindrance.
Speaking to newsmen at the sidelines of the association’s National Executive Council meeting in Kano earlier this month, a former Deputy National President, Mr Constantine Ikiako bared the mind of the group on a number of issues, one of which was a four-year tenure for chairmen of the local councils in the country.
Mr Ikiako who is also the Delta State ALGON Chairman decried the prevailing disorganised system where there is no uniform tenure of office for the councils’ heads across the country and made a strong case for a better state of affairs that will foster stability and greater leverage for service delivery.
“We think that the national and state assemblies need to ensure that there is harmonious tenure for local governments. For instance, some spend six months, some two years, while some three years.
“So, we have to make it, at least, three to four years. These are the issues we’re discussing and ensure we synchonise them”, he said.
According to Mr Ikiako, the council chairmen were no longer satisfied with being instruments of political patronage instead of being true agents of development that should be allowed to interface even with international development partners and thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for his interventions so far.
“We want our offices to be turned into areas where ideas are discussed properly. All we hear are the contracts that were awarded before we came in, and the president has said it must stop.
“Unfortunately, it was witnessed with a stiff resistance, but we vowed it must stop so that we can focus on re-engineering in partnership with development agencies to grow the local governments. Our prayer is that subsequent governments will realise that local government need to survive for Nigeria to be better”, he emphasised.
While many Nigerians agree that the local government system needs more freedom from the seemingly overbearing influence of the state governments in order to perform optimally, critical observers of the system also point out that functionaries of the system have not done enough to justify the opportunities given them so far.
Exchanging views with The Tide in Port Harcourt, a public affairs analyst and community leader, Chief Loveday Okere, said that ALGON was not being fair to the people in asking for a four-year tenure in office as they had generally not done enough to stay for more than two years in office.
“As far as I’m concerned, there’s no merit in what they’re asking for . That will be asking for too much from the people they’ redisappointed for a long time”, he argued, adding that “This is because for a local government chairman who is not performing to stay in office for three years amounts to suffering the people at the grassroots. If you ask me, I will say that it should be reduced to two years so that the people’s suffering will reduce”.
According to Chief Okere, a two-year tenure with guaranteed periodic election as, and when due, would empower the people to either re-new the mandate of a performing chairman or reject a non-performing one through the ballot box.
“Anybody who wants to perform, one year is even enough for you to perform”, he said, arguing that anyone that is determined to make a desirable difference in the circumstances of the people would be adequately prepared for the task and therefore would not need much time to make desired impact.
He said even though the issue of autonomy for the local government was still one to be resolved, the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to remit allocations directly to the local councils has left the chairmen with the sole responsibility of managing their resources.
“Except they still have any complaints about some form of diversion of funds, they should be able to manage the funds that come to them as people who are there to serve the people”, he said, emphasizing that corruption, selfishness and greed on the part of the elected officials at the third tier of government had been the bane of development at the grassroots.
“The problem I know is that anyone of them that is elected into office, the most important thing in the mind of that person is to selfishly develop himself by carting away resources that are meant for development or diverting them to other sources, that is very selfish”. he said, adding that “Therefore I don’t see much challenge why any of them will say this is why I cannot develop my locality”.
Chief Okere said he would not subscribe to the call for the conduct of local government elections to be given to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) because he believes that power and responsibilities needed to be discentralised.
He said while he appreciated the fact state and federal constituencies’ election had become more competitive over the years, with a little more effort, elections at the local council level could improve as well.
“For now, it is for us to continue to put pressure on the governors who insist on winning every seat at the local government areas to give democracy a chance to thrive at the local level”, he said.
There is no doubt that there is yet so much to be done to get the local government councils in Nigeria to optimally deliver on their mandate. However there is much more to be done by the political leadership at the grassroots to give the people a sense that their interest ranks above anything also, irrespective of how long or short the leaders stay in office.
By: Opaka Dokubo
Politics
Alia Denies Calling For Ganduje’s Resignation
Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has denied calling for the resignation of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje.
This was contained in a press statement issued on Wednesday in Makurdi by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Tersoo Kula.
The Tide source reports that the CPS was reacting to some media reports that the governor had called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
Kula said the governor at no time called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
He said the governor enjoyed a good relationship with the Ganduje-led leadership of the APC.
“It is imperative to clarify that at no point did Governor Alia assembled, attended and sent a representative or participated in any meeting to discuss the removal or call for resignation of Alhaji. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
“The Benue State governor remains firm in his support and allegiance to the leadership of the National Working Committee of the APC, under the leadership of Alhaji Ganduje.
“Furthermore, at no point, whether publicly or privately, has the governor advocated or expressed any desire for the resignation of the national party chairman”, he said.
He said the governor was focused on positively changing the fortunes of the state.
“He is alive to his responsibilities as the leader of APC in Benue State and is doing everything legitimate to reposition the party for future victories,” Kula said.
Politics
LP Re-Elects Abure As National Chairman
The embattled national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Julius Abure, has been re-elected for a second term by a unanimous affirmation of delegates despite the protests by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The Chairman of the National Convention and Deputy Governor of Abia State, Mr. Ikechukwu Emetu declared him the winner during the party’s national convention that held in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Wednesday.
Other serving officers of the party were also returned unopposed.
Recall that the NLC had called for Abure’s resignation as party chairman and the immediate constitution of a caretaker transition committee to organize an all-inclusive national convention for the party.
Meanwhile, a factional chairman of the Labour Party in Anambra State, Mr Peter Okoye has boasted that the Nnewi national convention will not stand.
Describing the convention as a sham, Okoye said: “This is not a convention. We are on top of the matter. It’s purely illegal.
“There was no ward congress, no local government congress, no state congress, and now who and who are the elected delegates that are electing the National Working Committee, NWC, members?
“The NLC was not there, TUC was not there, the owners of the party and members of the NEC and BOT members were not there too. So, who is holding the convention?”
Politics
Suswam Blames External Forces For Problems In PDP
Former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is being undermined by external forces which have rendered the party ineffective as a viable opposition.
Senator Suswam stated this during a live television interview on Wednesday.
He lamented that the party had since after the 2023 general elections failed to live up to expectations of Nigerians as a viable opposition.
Senator Suswam, who blamed the current PDP leadership for the ineffective state of the largest opposition party in the country, said unless there is an overhaul of its leadership, the party would “go nowhere” because the current leadership has lost focus.
He said, “I think there are subterranean forces inferring in the party and they are determining what is going on in the party. And the leadership is acquiescing to it.
“Subterranean suggests that people are trying to control the party from the outside. They are controlling the party from the outside and they are keeping the party in a comatose state.”
The Benue senator accused the party of refusing to call a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to help resolve some of the issues arising in the party.
He regretted the inability of the party to resolve the fallout of the 2022 presidential primary election which saw a group of five governors work against the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
He added that the inability of the Iliya Damagum-led leadership to discipline erring party members worsened the situation.
Senator Suswam said it was wrong for the party not to have sanctioned the G-5 governors and their allies who openly declared that they would remain in the party and work against its interest.
“They were not sanctioned which made others become emboldened to act anyway they wanted. PDP has been weakened since then,” he said.
He said no serious organisation does that, stressing that, “A serious organisation would apply sanctions” based on the laid down rules as contained in its constitution.
He further accused the acting national chairman of the party, Ambassador Iliya Damagum, of occupying the position which belongs to the North-Central zone, following the removal of the substantive chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, who hails from the zone.
Amb. Damagum, who was the Deputy National Chairman (North), hails from the North-East zone but was, as permitted by the party’s constitution, made acting chairman after Ayu’s removal by a court order.
The party’s law provides that the deputy chairman from the same region as the chairman takes over in the event of the latter’s removal from office.
Senator Suswam further lamented that “PDP is comatose now, and nothing can happen now,” adding that it was regrettable that politicians are now preferring to hold talks with smaller parties and not the PDP.
Noting that the PDP was at the precipice, Senator Suswam said, “Until we provide that leadership, PDP will not be a viable platform. We need to overhaul the leadership of the party. There is no pretence about it, everybody in PDP knows it. Without discipline and reconciliation, the party goes nowhere.”
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