ALGON Vows To Enforce Reinstatement Of LG Chairman

The leadership of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), has vowed to use all legitimate means to force the Imo State government to comply with the judgement of the Federal High Court, Owerri, which ruled that all the elected council chairmen in the state be restored to their various offices.

In a communiqué issued at the end of their 3-Day national conference held at Nike Lake Resort Hotel, Enugu, ALGON said the government of Imo State “is still flouting the judgement of court of competent jurisdiction”.

In another development, the constitution of ALGON has been amended to make the office of the national president of the body to rotate between the North and South of Nigeria, while the national president shall henceforth enjoy be a single term of three years.

The General Assembly resolved that the BOT chairman shall not come from the same zone as the national president and shall serve a single term of three years.

According to the communiqué, “BOT membership is increased to two representatives from each of the six geo-political zones. Other BOT members shall enjoy a tenure of three years, renewable for only one term”.

They also resolved that each L.G.A shall pay a monthly subscription of N50,000 and deductible at source from the Federation Account.

Their words: “The General Assembly resolved that chairmen of LGA councils in Nigeria shall enjoy pension benefits as being enjoyed by heads of other tiers of government in the country.

The 3-Day national conference was attended by council chairmen from all the 774 local government councils in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has joined the clamour for local government autonomy, saying the joint account regime had reduced the third tier to nothingness.

Abubakar, who spoke at the national conference of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Enugu, called on the National Assembly to ensure that it amended that aspect of the constitution.

He said that when he inaugurated the association in 1999, one of the aims was to promote the autonomy of the local governments.

He explained that the joint account by the states and local governments had left the local government less than what they ought to be.

Abubakar also condemned the government of Adamawa, his home state, for not conducting local government elections in the past four years.

He said the governor of the state was busy appointing caretaker committees so that nobody would question his activities in the state.

Also speaking, a former Senate President, Sen. Ken Nnamani, who chaired the occasion, said he supported the autonomy of the local government system so that local governments could carry out their responsibilities.

He said the conference provided an opportunity for all to explore ways to strengthen the local government institution and make it more functional and responsive to the needs of local communities.

Nnamani added that the local government was the closest tier of government to the people and provided effective platform for communities to contribute to and participate in the process of governance.

The President of the association, Mr Nwabueze Okafor, said the conference was one of the events to mark its 13th anniversary.

He said the anniversary coincided with the current efforts by the National Assembly to amend the 1999 Constitution.

Nwabueze said the conference provided a forum for the local government system, stakeholders and opinion leaders to meet and exchange ideas and experience.

Declaring the conference open, the Mexican Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Marco Antonia, said Nigeria and Mexico had many similarities.

The ambassador said both countries had more than 100 million inhabitants who play key roles in the affairs of their continents.