By Abdullahi Yahaya
Residents of Kaduna and environs have reacted to the Supreme Court ruling granting financial autonomy to LGAs across the country. Barring any last-minute change, Kaduna State Government, on its part, is set to conduct local government elections after an inertia of over three years.
The election, first to be held under the present administration of Governor Uba Sani, is coming at a significant milestone in the history of local governments in the fourth Republic, considering the Supreme Court judgment affirming the financial independence of the third tier of government and mandating the federal government and other relevant fiscal allocation agencies to henceforth discontinue the joint allocation arrangement where local governments’ monthly allocations are embedded in those of their state governments.
This has been an age-long development, which civil societies and stakeholders blamed for the slow pace of delivering the dividends of democracy at the grassroots level. This is more so because the local government is considered the closest to the people among the other tiers.
The Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani, must be commended for taking a bold step of timely setting in motion measures to conduct the LG’s election, which many analysts and opinion leaders spoken to by the Kaduna Outlook believe will boost the credibility of his administration and earn it accolades among citizens.
Local government elections, though conducted by umpires appointed by state governments, go a long way in underscoring one of the fundamental principles of democratic experiments in our contemporary practice, as it allows citizens the franchise to choose their leaders and equally gives the opportunity for the emergence of popular candidates at the helm of affairs at the grassroots level. This will preserve the faith of people in democracy and give them a sense of belonging as important stakeholders in the project of building the society via the present democratic experiment.
The Kaduna LG’s election slated for October 19, 2024, will take place across 23 local government areas in 255 wards in the state, which will produce 23 chairmen and 255 councilors as elected officials of their local governments and wards respectively.
People in the state, particularly at the grassroots level, are already in the mood for the election. Our reporters observed a beehive of activities at various offices of political parties, with series of meetings being held in connection with the forthcoming election.
A potential aspirant of a major political party, who pleaded for anonymity in an interview with this magazine, expressed optimism in the forthcoming exercise, saying the election would elicit deep interest and huge enthusiasm in the history of local elections in the state.
“The latest development of making local governments financially autonomous will without doubt add flavor in the contest because the stakes are now believed to be high for whoever grabs the seat. Unlike in the past when chairmen of local governments were believed to have limited powers of how and when to get their resources, which were under the full control of their state chief executives. Contestants and their parties, I believe, will do a lot of campaigning to woo the electorates, which will arouse interest and make the contest keen and interesting,” he stated.
An official of one of the political parties noted that it was imperative for the umpire to uphold fairness in the discharge of its responsibilities in the forthcoming exercise to avoid post-election litigations that usually arise due to irregularities. He emphasized the need for a truly independent election umpire, which he said must not be compromised. He commended Governor Uba Sani for taking the bold initiative among his peers of conducting an election at local government levels.
On his part, an opinion leader who simply identified himself as Musa Kajuru enjoined the electorates to shun violence during and after the exercise, adding that hooliganism could only lead to destruction and backwardness. He also urged potential candidates and their parties to emphasize peace and orderly conduct during campaigns, saying it would go a long way in ensuring a rancor-free atmosphere all over the state.
Our correspondents, who went to town sampling the opinion of citizens about the forthcoming election, observed a growing enthusiasm, rising interest, and willingness to contribute to the political discourse surrounding the upcoming exercise. This wasn’t unconnected with the financial autonomy granted local governments and developments that may follow, according to an administrative staff of a local government in a rural area of the state.
According to him, people are curious and eager to see how robust the implementation of the financial independence granted LGs will be vis-à-vis promoting and facilitating growth, prosperity, development, and above all, impacting positively on the welfare of communities, especially in these hard times of escalating prices of essential items and goods.
He harped on transparency, accountability, and judicious expenditure by the would-be chairmen of the post-autonomy era of the closest tier to the people.
The official, who preferred to speak on anonymity, said the whole essence of granting local governments autonomy could be defeated if the bosses of this tier failed to give priority to the welfare and the basic needs of the people at the grassroots, who should be the primary beneficiaries of the positive development of the new present dispensation.
“Caution must be exercised by these chairmen who will emerge victorious after the election in ensuring allocated resources are utilized strictly for the purpose they are meant for, so that people who have been opposing separate allocation to LGs won’t be vindicated at the end of the day.
“He enjoined electorates and other relevant stakeholders to be active politically and monitor developments after the election to see if truly there are changes and positive impacts of the autonomy on the lives of citizens.”
Elsewhere, the Kaduna Outlook interviewed a grassroots advocate of good governance who expressed optimism in the Supreme Court judgement affirming the financial independence of the third tier, describing the verdict as apt, capable of ensuring growth and the infrastructure development needed at this material time.
He, however, served a caveat that the autonomy would be beneficial if only LG bosses are held accountable for their actions if they fail to deliver.
Having a mechanism holding elected officials accountable will put them on their toes to deliver on the goals of the autonomy granted. He listed: fast and timely implementation of budgets, cash backing of proposed projects, transparency and accountability, ensuring growth and enhancing social infrastructures at the grassroots, as some basic objectives of the financial independence of the LGs, which he said must not be defeated such that it would prompt calls for reverting to the hitherto status quo.
“Prudent management of scarce resources in the form of monthly allocations should be the watchword for these LG bosses if they could make meaningful impacts on the lives of citizens.
“Agriculture, which is the mainstay of rural dwellers, must be developed beyond subsistence level so farmers will earn value for their efforts by producing in mass for commerce locally and possibly for export.
“Whatever the outcome arising from granting direct allocation to the local governments after the October 19 election in the state will be a yardstick measuring the success or otherwise of the Supreme Court judgement on this important issue of governance as it affects our nascent democracy,” he echoed.
