The Citizens Centre for Integrated Development and Social Rights, a civil society organization, has advocated for necessary constitutional reforms to enable full implementation of Local Government autonomy.
The Centre’s Executive Director, Mr Emeka Ononamadu, said this while addressing newsmen in Owerri, on Friday, following its monitoring of capital projects across selected LGAs in the southeast.
He noted that according to results from the monitoring exercise, allocated funds are not translating into visible development while capital projects are limited, poorly prioritised, or misaligned, with the core constitutional responsibilities of primary education, healthcare and agriculture, neglected.
“ Local governments represent the closest tier of government to the people and are constitutionally mandated to deliver essential services that directly impact citizens’ daily lives.
“ These services include primary education, primary healthcare, rural infrastructure and agricultural development.
“ Unfortunately, despite significant monthly allocations from the federation account, LGAs in Nigeria have largely failed to deliver on these responsibilities, indicating systemic governance failures requiring actionable reforms “, he said.
Ononamadu called for urgent constitutional reforms, particularly the amendment of Section 162 (6) of the 1999 Constitution, to halt the state joint Local Government account, guarantee full autonomy of LGAs and establish a citizen-driven accountability framework.
This, he added, would enhance transparency, enable direct citizen engagement, improve service delivery, reduce corruption and waste, and strengthen grassroots democracy.
He argued that further delay in the implementation of the recommendations could result in continued rural underdevelopment, entrenchment of corruption and loss of public trust.
He called on states to cease interference in LGA finances and administration, respect democratic governance at the local level and ensure enabling laws that align with autonomy principles.
He also called on local governments to publish their budgets and financial reports regularly, engage citizens in participatory budgeting , prioritise constitutional responsibilities, and strengthen internal accountability systems.
He further urged Civil Society Organisations and the media to promote citizen awareness and engagement, advocate for transparency and reform , investigate and report on LGA spending and amplify citizen voices.
He advised communities and citizens to demand accountability from local leaders, participate in budget tracking and monitoring, as well as report corruption and mismanagement to the appropriate authorities.
He expressed confidence that with the necessary legislative reforms, LG autonomy, as a national development imperative, would reduce corruption, strengthen democracy, unlock grassroots development and improve the quality of life for Nigerians.