…Demands transparency in local government projects
By Chioma Obinagwam
BudgIT, a civic organisation, has condemned State Government interference in the finances of Local governments in Nigeria.
This was conveyed in a statement issued by ‘Niyi Soleye, Human Resources Manager at BudgIT on recently.
“LGAs in Nigeria have not lived up to expectation in their operations due to interference by state governors,” the civic organization that applies technology to intersect citizen engagement with institutional improvement, to facilitate societal change disclosed. “As at today, only nine states have signed the Local Government Autonomy Bill into law.”
“Signing the bill into law in some states didn’t metamorphose into financial autonomy for the councils, though as the governors still interfere with their finances,” BudgIT stated.
It is on this basis that BudgIT is calling for transparency and openness in the implementation of local government projects.
Local Government Areas (LGAs), being the third tier of government, were created with the ultimate goal of bringing governance closer to the people at the grassroots.
“Lots of funds are allotted yearly for capital expenditure yet capital projects are left undone or uncompleted,” BudgIT indicated. “Thereby giving room for critical gaps in infrastructural development in the country.”
The civic organization further frowned at the way the local government chairmen are handpicked by state governors who in turn dictate their operations and also prevent them from getting their allocations directly from the federal government, hence resulting to a total collapse of local government administration in Nigeria.
Reacting to the issue, former president, Olusegun Obasanjo while playing host to a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), Friends of Democracy, at his residence inside the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta recently, said the local government reform carried out in 1976 was meant to make the councils as third tier of government and not an appendage of either of the two tiers of government.
Nevertheless, local government councils did not have definitive constitutional recognition until local government was enshrined in the 1979 constitution, which provided the legal framework to implement the 1976 reforms.
Although the 1979 constitution did spell out the functions and responsibilities of local governments, there are still gaps in it, hence, the reason clarion call for the implementation of the Local Government Autonomy Bill requiring at least 24 states consent and has somewhat met a brick wall with only nine state giving a nod to it.
Tracka’s Intervention
Suffice to say that the narrative is slightly different in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where Abuja Municipal Area Council raised the bar of transparency and accountability in Local Government Administration in Nigeria, Tracka, a BudgIT innovation created to assist actively interested citizens to efficiently track budgets and public projects in their respective communities, disclosed.
It further stated that the council under the leadership of Abdullahi Candido is the first to release the council’s 2018 budget in the FCT.
Kwali and Abaji area councils, it added, have since followed suit by releasing their 2018 budget to the public,
It further stated that Local government councils in the FCT enjoy some level of autonomy due to the structure of FCT administration.
Tracka also attributed some credit to DEAN initiative, an NGO envisioned to address issues around youth leadership development, entrepreneurship development and inclusive development for rural children.
Tracka extended its tracking activities to Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) with the aim of making the budget available to the citizens at the grassroots, track the implementation of the council’s 2018 budget, and also build the capacity of the citizens on public finance especially budget matters.
The essence, Tracka noted, was to enable them own the projects and actively track implementation of capital projects in their community; adding that it is working with community-based organisations, religious and traditional leaders in various communities in Abuja Municipal Area Council.
Furthermore, Tracka has also identified and built the capacity of community champions to make citizens continuously demand for service delivery from their representatives.
The Tracka team said it has visited 35 communities to track the implementation of a total of 42 capital projects captured in the council’s 2018 budget .Out of the 42 capital projects tracked, 22 projects have been completed,14 projects are ongoing, and the implementation of 6 projects are yet to commence as at the time of this report.
“This is highly commendable when you compare Abuja Municipal Area Council budget implementation feat with her counterparts in Nigeria,” BudgIT noted.
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