The Federal Government said yesterday that financial restrictions faced by the 774 local government councils in the country were hampering their growth.
The Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Zephaniah Jisalo, made the observation at a 2-day workshop, with the theme “Local Government Administration in Nigeria: Reviewing the Trajectories, Trends and Projections in Today’s Economic and Political Realities”, organised by the National Association of Chairmen of Local Government Service Commissions.
Emphasizing that the capacity of local government councils to offer crucial services to grassroots communities was gravely affected by financial, inadequate infrastructure and lack of autonomy, the minister said the situation had led to frustration and the likelihood of growing discontent in the country.
“In terms of trends and realities, our local governments have faced a variety of difficulties in the midst of political and economic changes.
“Their capacity to offer crucial services to grassroots communities has been hampered by financial restrictions, inadequate infrastructure and lack of autonomy”, he said.
Maintaining that the situation had led to frustration among the citizenry, Jisalo said: “As a result, citizens are now frustrated and there is a likelihood that discontent will grow”.
The minister, who was represented by the Director of inter-governmental Affairs of the ministry, Mrs Patience Ehujo, said the government would revitalise the local government system by promoting empowered autonomy, capacity development, community engagement through frequent town hall meetings, robust implementation mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability in resource allocation and utilisation at the local government level and collaborative partnerships.
In his remarks, the chairman of the National Association of Chairmen of Local Government Service Commissions, Bawa Sani, advocated the unification of rules and regulations in the local government system in the country and a harmonious working relationship between the working and political class at the grassroots.
He said: “We started this forum last year and the essence was to establish a relationship whereby the working class and the political class will come together, exchange ideas and fraternise with one another.
“It is also a forum where all the directors from all over the country will come together and discuss issues as they concern the civil service.
“With that, we can unify the rules and regulations such that what is obtainable in Jigawa, if you got to Bayelsa, you will see the same thing in terms of nomenclature and everything you can think of, as well as progression from one level to another, among others”.
