The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has stressed that effective governance at the local level cannot be achieved without full autonomy.
He made this known to journalists after casting his vote during the Lagos State local government elections in Surulere on Saturday.
When asked about the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on local government (LG) autonomy, delivered exactly a year ago, Gbajabiamila described it as a work in progress that would be perfected over time.
“The ruling was welcomed by all. It is the execution and implementation that require fine-tuning. In due course, we will achieve full autonomy,” he stated. “Effective governance depends on it, and that is our goal.”
In July 2024, the Supreme Court granted financial and administrative autonomy to all 774 local government areas in Nigeria, following a suit filed by the Federal Government through the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation.
However, the ruling has yet to be fully enforced across the country.
Following the judgement, the Senate urged state and local governments to comply, especially in regard to direct allocations to local government accounts.
The Senate also pledged to initiate constitutional amendments to entrench full autonomy for local government councils.
This resolution was announced by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau, after a closed-door session where lawmakers discussed alleged efforts by some state governments to undermine the Supreme Court’s decision on 11 July.