Full autonomy will lead to chaos: Gov Soludo signs bill to deduct LG funds

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has expressed concerns that granting full autonomy to Nigeria’s 774 local government areas could result in “humongous chaos” and undermine sustainable development.

He made this assertion after signing the Anambra Local Government Administration Law 2024 at the Governor’s Lodge in Amawbia, Awka.

Governor Soludo explained that complete local government autonomy is impractical due to the numerous challenges it could create.

He emphasized that Section 7 of Nigeria’s constitution empowers state governments to oversee local government administration, suggesting that effective governance requires state-level supervision to maintain order and development.

The law, recently passed by the Anambra State House of Assembly, reinforces the state’s role in the administration of local governments within the region.

“The absolute autonomy to the 774 local government areas in the country is an impossibility,” Soludo said. “In fact, it is a recipe for humongous chaos. The attendant challenges before the issue of local government autonomy are such that would certainly deepen the fate of the system and spell doom for the expected beneficiaries of the process if not well planned.”

Soludo explained that the new laws are consequential to the Supreme Court judgment and not intended to undermine it.

“The new laws by Anambra House of Assembly are therefore consequential to give operational life to the Supreme Court judgment and not to undermine it,” Soludo stated. “If the State House of Assembly abdicates this constitutional duty, the Local Government will then have no law on the use and management of its finance.”

News360 Nigeria reports that the bill requires local government areas (LGAs) to remit a portion of their federal allocations into a consolidated account controlled by the state.

Section 13(1) of the bill stipulates that the state shall maintain a “State Joint Local Government Account” into which all federal allocations to LGAs must be deposited. Section 14(3) of it mandates that each LGA must remit a state-determined percentage to the consolidated account within two working days of receiving their allocations.

Meanwhile, Section 14(4) outlines that if the state receives the LGA’s allocation on their behalf, it must deduct the specified percentage before disbursing the remaining funds to the LGA.