By Nnanna Okere
Nigeria has 774 local government areas. Each local government area is administered by a Local Government Council consisting of a chairman who is the Chief Executive of the LGA, and other elected members who are referred to as Councillors. Local authorities are multi-purpose bodies responsible for delivering a broad range of services in relation to roads; traffic; planning; housing; economic and community development; environment, recreation and amenity services; fire services and maintaining the register of electors.
Local government is the closest tier of government to the people of Nigeria, yet the resident population in it is denied the benefits of its existence. The failure of local government in the area of service delivery over the years has made the citizens to loose faith and trust in local government administration as an institution in Nigeria. However, local government’s inability to perform its constitutional functions effectively has been blamed on lack of autonomy to operate as a third tier of government.
The issue of local government autonomy in Nigeria has become a recurrent decimal in the political chessboard of our national discourse. The 1976 local government reform by the then military Head of State General Olusegun Obasanjo administration was in order to positively affect the lives of all the citizens in the country. The Obasanjo administration felt that for a country to have meaningful democracy, the grassroots must be democratized at the grassroots before handing over the country to civilian administration as the engine house of any democratic government.
The 1976 Local Government Reforms, was meant to make the councils to be the third tier of government and not an appendage of either of the two tiers of government or subjected to the whims and caprices of any other government; just the same way that the state government is autonomous from the federal government. Local government is meant to be autonomous from the state government. Successive administrations in the country have not given the local government the opportunity to operate independently as enshrined in the constitution.
Interestingly, all the gubernatorial aspirants that emerged as candidates in their various parties like Senator Hope Uzodimma, former Governor Ikedi Ohakim, Hon Emeka Ihedioha, Senator Ifeanyi Ararume , Ugwumba Uche Nwosu and even my good friend Linus Okorie all promised to ensure and accord full scale autonomy to local government councils if elected.
At the end of the governorship election, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha was declared winner against the popular candidature, Senator Hope Uzodimma. After his inauguration as the governor he sacked the chairmen and councillors elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) by Rochas Okorocha’s administration towards the tail end of his administration and appointed Interim Management Committee
at the various local government areas of the state, a development that was seen as a negation of local government autonomy as enshrined in the 1999 constitution (as amended).
Determined to reclaim the mandate given to him by the people, Senator Uzodimma went to court to seek redress. At the end of the litigations, the Supreme Court in its wisdom declared Senator Uzodimma as the duly elected governor and was subsequently sworn in as the governor of Imo State.
In fairness to Senator Hope Uzodimma as a democrat, he had wanted to conduct out rightly council poll without opting for Interim Management Committee but due to pressure from the Imo State House of Assembly and the outbreak of Coronavirus in the world the governor had to appoint Interim Management Committee at the local government level to help in the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic issues. From all indications since he assumed office as the governor of Imo State, he has shown determination and readiness to conduct election into the local government areas of the state.
At any given opportunity, Senator Hope Uzodimma reiterates his administration’s resolve to ensure that the grassroots feel the impact of his administration. After swearing in the Interim Management Committee (IMC) for the 27 LGAs, following directive from the Imo State House of Assembly, Governor Uzodimma told them to go and serve the people and help to bring his message of prosperity government encapsulated in his 3R mantra of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Recovery to reality.
“Go and recover the LGAs which are like a cemetery. You must serve the people and not yourself. In a very short time we will be organising a proper local council election. If you do well you can stand in for the election or you will be disqualified if the contrary is the case. Avoid things that will bring government to ridicule. Go and justify the trust we have today reposed on you and remember that government
business is a serious business,” the governor admonished.
During a recent courtesy visit by the 27 IMC chairmen at the Sam Mbakwe Executive Chambers Government House Owerri, Governor Hope Uzodimma once more charged the interim management chairmen of the 27 local government areas in the state to always have the poor and vulnerable in mind whenever they want to design policies.
The governor also told the council chairmen to ensure that they do not do good governance without playing politics as they are his representatives at the grassroots. He reiterated his pledge to work in the interest of the weak in the society, admonishing the council bosses to always think the same way. He promised to support them in all their endeavours in office and reminded them not to be distracted by the things they see around them in the course of governance.
One of the IMC chairmen who seem to have comfortably keyed into the essence of Governor Uzodimma’s admonition for them to go and make a difference at the grassroots is the chairman of Ngor Okpala LGA, Hon. Chief Mayor Obinna Nweke whose coronavirus awareness campaign has been adjudged one of the best in the state. His strategy for curtailing movements across the council’s five land borders to stop the spread of COVID-19 into the council, including the border with Rivers State has earned him commendations.
He has also demonstrated determination to industrialise the council, revealing recently his plans to bring in foreign investors to build Airport Industrial Park in order to create jobs, produce goods that are sold to other states and export to other countries taking advantage of Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri. He blamed COVID-19 for the delay in taking off of the Industrial Park project.
Nweke is one of the IMC chairmen that gives hope that something positive has begun to happen at the grassroots. It is another reason why democratization of the councils through elections has become inevitable. And all eyes are on Governor Uzodimma.
Resolute to enthrone local government administration at the grassroots level Governor Uzodimma recently inaugurated the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC), with a charge that members should use their position to strengthen democracy at the grassroots. Performing the inauguration of the new board of ISIEC at the Sam Mbakwe Executive Chambers, Government House, Owerri, Governor Uzodimma said the new ISIEC is expected to “produce chairmen and councillors with political integrity, strong in character irrespective of political party, local government area or council.”
He directed the body led by Mrs. Pauline Onyeka as chairman to go and strengthen the state electoral infrastructure that will conduct and produce credible elections in Imo State both now and in the future.
Gauging the mood of the people, this writer has also discovered that the generality of Imolites are confident and optimistic that Governor Uzodimma would re-engineer grassroots development in the state and would also ensure free and fair local government elections that will enthrone and usher in full autonomy at the local government level.
The governor and ISIEC need all the support that they could get to ensure free and fair electoral process at the grassroots. Governor Uzodimma has come to make a change and take Imo to the next level of development. He needs our support and prayers to succeed.
– Nnanna Okere is the Coordinator, Imo Diasporas Support for Governor Hope Uzodimma