Senator Kawu Sumaila has warned state governors across the country to stop frustrating efforts to entrench full autonomy for local governments.
He spoke at the North-West Zonal Public Hearing organized by the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.
The senator accused state governments of obstructing progress.
“State governors are bent on keeping the councils under their control by withholding their allocations and reducing them to beggars. This must stop,” he declared.
Sumaila, who represents Kano South Senatorial District, expressed deep frustration over the long-standing struggle to liberate the third tier of government from what he called undue interference by state authorities.
“I must commend President Bola Tinubu for not only accepting the bill I sponsored on local government autonomy, but also for taking the matter to the Supreme Court to secure a definitive judgment in favour of the 774 local government areas,” he said.
He acknowledged the efforts of civil society groups and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), adding that their tireless campaign for local government freedom must not go in vain.
“We cannot allow the blockage of local government autonomy by state actors. We must fight using all available legal and constitutional means to make it happen,” Sumaila insisted.
The senator was part of a delegation that included union leaders from local governments who submitted a draft bill to the Senate Constitution Review Committee.
He praised the committee chaired by Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, for bringing the public hearing to Kano, describing it as a necessary step to bringing the debate closer to the people.
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