By Chesa Chesa
State Governors have said the Supreme Court judgement on local government autonomy is a relief for state governments.
Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman, expressed the view of his colleagues to State House correspondents on Friday at the Presidential Villa, after he met with President Bola Tinubu.
According to the Governor, many people are unaware of how much states spend in bailing out local governments financially.
He said: “We welcome the ruling of the Supreme Court. Compliance is a given, and our Attorney Generals have applied for the enrollment order, which we’ll study carefully.
“But by and large, governors are happy with the devolution of power in respect to local government autonomy.
“It relieves the burden on governors. Our people really don’t know how much states expend in bailing out local governments, and that’s the issue there.”
Regarding the impact on Kwara State, AbdulRahman stated that it would not affect his state badly, as his government had never tampered with local government funds.
He advised local governments to manage their affairs, especially with the upcoming minimum wage implementation.
“It’s not going to affect the state; we’ve never tampered with local government funds. So it’s going to continue.
“What the local governments have to do is to manage themselves, especially with the oncoming minimum wage, to manage their affairs and make sure salaries are paid, traditional rulers get their 5%, and those are the main issues,” he said.
The NGF Chairman also touched on the issue of local government elections, mentioning that the forum hasn’t yet seen the full court order.
He announced that the Governors would meet next Wednesday to discuss the implications of the ruling and come to a resolution.
He also stated that State Governors have completed their part at the tripartite committee level, indicating that the next steps in the minimum wage negotiations are to be taken by the federal government and labour unions.
According to him, “the tripartite committee has met and submitted its report. Yes, a movement of figures is the prerogative of the president, which he will also transmit to the National Assembly for robust debate before it’s adopted.”
