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
Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar
A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.
The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.
The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.
It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.
“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.
The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.
For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.
He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.
Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.
In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.
According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.
“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.
“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.
“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.
“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.
“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.
Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.
Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.
“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.
“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.
To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.
“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.
“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.
“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.
-
Sports2 days ago
Eagles B Players Admit Pressure For CHAN Qualification
-
Niger Delta1 day agoNDLEA Intercepts 584.171kg Hard Drugs In Bayelsa … Arrests 559 Suspects
-
Rivers1 day ago
Four Internet Fraudstars Get Different Jail Terms In PH
-
Business1 day ago
Food Security: NDDC Pays Counterpart Fund For LIFE-ND Project
-
Business1 day ago
PH Women Plan Alternative Stew, Shun Tomato High Prices
-
Foods/Drinks2 days ago
What To Know About Your Menu
-
Niger Delta1 day agoEx-IYC President Lampoons Atiku’s Presidential Ambition … Declares It Negative Impact On N’Delta
-
News1 day ago
Tinubu Never Stopped 5-year Visa For U S. Citizens – Presidency ?