By Abiola Olawale
Following a ruling of the Supreme Court which granted financial autonomy to the local government Area Councils in Nigeria, 33 council chairmen in Oyo State have all announced their decision to dump the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON).
The 33 Chairmen also declared their absolute support for Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.
They called on the Federal Government to continue sending their allocations to the Oyo State government account.
The chairmen, in a communique they jointly signed and released by the Public relations officer in the state, Ibrahim Akintayo, described their decision as a demonstration of solidarity with Makinde’s recent stand on local government autonomy as ruled by the apex court.
They attributed their unequivocal loyalty to Makinde to what they described as “his exemplary leadership and unrivalled achievements since his assumption to office.”
According to their communique, the decision to quit ALGON and move to a new association was premised on the need to protect and provide for the local people in their various local government areas.
The 33 Council Chairmen also maintained that they intend to float a new association for local government executive chairmen which will be registered under the relevant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Part of the communique read: “At the general meeting of ALL the Local Government Councils of Oyo State, held on Saturday 3rd August 2024 at Ibadan, it was voluntarily agreed and resolved as follows:
“That to inter alia protect the interest of our people, we should forthwith form an umbrella association. Such organisation will be registered under the relevant Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its membership shall be institutional-represented by the chairmen of respective local government councils.
“That the association shall remain committed to the democratic ideas of the system of Local Government as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“Furthermore, the association shall ensure the delivery of the real development in local councils in the overall interest of our people at the local level.”
This development is coming weeks after the judgment of the Supreme Court which , affirmed the financial autonomy of local governments.
The apex court gave the verdict in a suit filed by the Federal Government against the 36 states of the federation, demanding autonomy for the 774 LGAs in the country.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment, ruled that allocation due to local government should be sent directly to councils from the Federation Allocation Account Committee.
It also ruled that the state governments lacked the authority to manage federal allocations on behalf of local governments.
Following the judgment, Makinde expressed his displeasure and set up committees to look into it and how to go about it.
