Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State don sign new law wey dey regulate how local governments go dey manage their funds, and dis one don cause plenty controversy. On Tuesday, Soludo sign di Anambra Local Government Administration Law 2024, and him say granting absolute autonomy to di 774 local government areas for Nigeria go cause “humongous chaos” and no go lead to sustainable development.
Soludo explain say di new law aim to ensure consistency, transparency, and collaboration among di different tiers of government. Him say Section 7 of di constitution empower state governments to enact laws for di administration of local government areas, and dat state oversight dey important.
Members of di Labour Party (LP) and some civil society groups don criticize di signing of di law. Chief Damian Ugoh, a member of LP in Anambra State, say di law go against di Supreme Court judgment on local government autonomy. Him argue say di bill dey try to force local government chairmen to send back their federal allocation to di state government.
Dr Ralph Uche, di Executive Director of Civil Rights and Liberty Organisation, also describe di signing of di law as “anti-people” and say it dey deny local government councils di funds meant for grassroots development. Him say di bill dey compel local government areas to remit part of their federal allocations into a consolidated account controlled by di state.
Soludo deny allegations say governors dey force local government chairmen to transfer funds to di state. Him say such allegations no dey true and dat collaboration between state and local governments dey crucial to avoid financial crises in di local governments.
