By Ben Kati
The Chairman Bwari Area Council, John Gabaya has re-echoed the call for independent of the Local Government across the territory.
He said it was wrong for state Governors to caged local governments, making them irrelevant.
The Chairman stated in Abuja, on Tuesday during the occasion of the ongoing study tour of the council by participants of the senior executive course 44, 2022 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies Kuru, Jos.
Gabaya who was represented by the council secretary, Eli Peter, said the action of keeping local governments out of the scheme of things, by State Governments is constituting serious hindrances to the attainment of true democracy and good governance in Nigeria.
He therefore, called on NIPSS and the course to add more weight to the cry and quest for true autonomy for local governments in the country.
Gabaya said: “The role of local government in the roots and fabrics of good and people oriented governance cannot be overemphasized. It is the government closest to the grassroots, ‘The People’.
“Aside this, local government councils perform a number of unique and indispensable functions, such as: providing services and development activities at the grassroots in response to local wishes and initiatives; facilitate the exercise of democratic self-government close to the grassroots; mobilize the enormous human and material resources at the grassroots for national development as well as serving as a two-way channel of communication between the grassroots and government at the State and Federal level.
“The present practice whereby local governments councils are muscled and squeezed into a near state of oblivion by States Governments all over the country constitute serious hindrances and impediments to the attainment of true democracy and good governance in Nigeria. Infact, it is a heinous crime against democratic and self-government”.
