Local government autonomy should be swiftly implemented to improve grassroots governance across Nigeria, according to the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).
Mr. Emmanuel Akala, speaking on behalf of ALGON National President Bello Lawal, praised President Bola Tinubu for starting the autonomy process during the 2nd Quarter Stakeholders and Citizens Engagement Forum in Abuja, which was organised by the Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Lawal stressed the need of delegating authority to local governments because they are the most in touch with the people.
When asked about the Supreme Court’s ruling on direct funding for local governments, he emphasised that “every Nigerian resides in a local government, not at the state or federal level” and urged the implementation committee to move quickly.
Lawal brought attention to ALGON’s continuous efforts by mentioning programs like the ALGON Primary Healthcare Revitalisation Programme. This program seeks to improve healthcare delivery for women and children, decrease maternal mortality, and establish primary healthcare centres as the initial point of medical access for citizens.
Furthermore, in order to digitise the processes of indigenisation, marriage registration, death registration, and birth registration, ALGON is spearheading a National Integrated Local Government System.
The National Merit House needs to be refurbished, according to Chief Obinna Nwaka, Director-General of the Committee of Youth on Mobilisation and Sensitisation (CYMS), who voiced his opinion at the forum that the current state of the facility is unfit for hosting important national events.
Furthermore, he brought up the issue of impersonation in relation to the National Merit Award nomination and pointed out that the CYMS is responsible for overseeing projects and policy execution.
Under the leadership of Mr. Attahiru Ibrahim, the President of the Forum of Heads of Local Government Administration in Nigeria, Alhaji Abdulrahman Marafa urged the ministry to think about incorporating grassroots administrators into project evaluation and monitoring procedures, since they possess the necessary technical understanding of local concerns.
Nominations for the Nigerian National Merit Award were open and free to the public, according to Mrs. Mercy Musa, acting secretary of the award, in response to the concerns voiced. If my memory serves me well, impartial experts were responsible for making the nominations, and advertisements ran once a year.
The purpose of the engagement forum, according to Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs Mr. Zaphaniah Jisalo (represented by Permanent Secretary Dr. Onwusoro Maduka), was to increase involvement and cooperation among stakeholders in order to guarantee efficient project execution and good return on investment (ROI) at the local level.
In order to improve the lives of citizens through health, infrastructure, and education, he reassured stakeholders that the ministry would adhere to inclusive and evidence-based measures.