Lest we forget, the Local Governments need their Independence

 Every Nigerian, including the President has a local government, but

which of them is living up to expectation?

Constitutionally, the Local Government is the third tier of Government with responsibilities. The local government, is closest to the people, yet it is the least popular of the tiers of government.

Interestingly, when national Elections are conducted, the local government results show plurality of choice but when local government Elections are conducted by the states, the party in power makes a clean sweep of all the seats contested. Isn't that curious?

It goes to show that the states are sufficiently strong enough to resist the Federal might without lording it over the Federal Government but the local governments are lilliputians against the local government and so they suppress their will and cow them to submission. Alternatively, the opposition parties may not bother at all. But whichever way, the local government Elections have no semblance of proper Elections.

The state governments are deceptively very powerful but terribly irresponsible. I remember the governors' forum frustrating every attempt made by GEJ to maintain a sovereign wealth fund. That it is not provided for by the Constitution was their ready excuse, but then how many of them have savings from their share of the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee funds?

The governors too are the Single most powerful Bloc in the various parties. In spite of the aforementioned, they still mischievously, join the masses in blaming the Federal Government for all our woes.

In addition to that, they prevent the local governments from performing their constitutional roles by starving them of funds.

Much as this is not a making of the governors but the drafters of the 1999 Constitution who provided for the state and local governments joint account, the Governors still have much to do. And that indeed is the Crux of the matter.

The states so emasculate the local governments that they cannot stand up to the state governments should the need arise. In the process, the local governments just exist in name only without making an impact in the lives of the people.

There were moves to address the ridiculous situation. This is an attempt to bring it up again.