By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has charged Local Government Administrators to utilise the opportunity of the ongoing Constitution Amendment by the National Assembly to push for changes that will enhance their performance.
Gbajabiamila said this while speaking at the 2021 General Assembly of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) on Wednesday, March 24, 2021.
He said the House would support them if it will result in better performance of local government in the country.
The Speaker said, “Local government leaders must at all times strive towards a culture of service and the practice of excellence. You must respect the rule of law. Part of that means ensuring that the legislative arm of local government administration performs its separate functions without undue executive interference.
“For too long, we have avoided the hard conversations about our nation’s future. We cannot afford to do that anymore. I assure you all that the 9th House of Representatives will not waiver from our commitment to take whatever legislative actions are necessary to achieve the highest ambitions we have for Nigeria.
“I assure you also that we are ready to work with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and all stakeholders to fix local government administration in Nigeria once and for all.”
He explained that development of Nigeria can only succeed if it begins at the local government level, adding that it is only through an efficient and effective local government administration that delivery of democratic governance can be made to the people.
The Speaker assured that the House was ready to assist the local governments to enhance their capacity for better delivery to Nigerians so that constituents will no longer approach legislators to undertake tasks that ought to have been handled by the local government administrations.
He added, “We all know why this happens. That is why I say you should make the outcomes of this assembly rich. And we will be there in the National Assembly to assist you.”
Gbajabiamila further said, “The local government administrations in Nigeria are the closest to the people. They should be responsible for making decisions and providing services that ensure the quality of life for the Nigerian people.
“Until we fix local government administration in Nigeria, we will not be able to fully deliver on the promise of democratic governance in a way that allows us to achieve our country’s full potential.
“This is the most critical and most important tier of government because you are the ones that are in touch with the people of Nigeria.”
“I was pleased to see that you have chosen as the theme of this year’s General Assembly ‘Strategic Positioning of Local Governments for the Future: A New Era.’
This is an important topic that I hope will allow the General Assembly to develop a strategy that will enable stakeholders across government and civil society to collaborate more effectively to achieve necessary and long-overdue reforms of local government administration in Nigeria.”
Gbajabiamila said now that there is a public and political consensus in favour of constitutional reforms to address the fundamental and structural problems in the country, “this is the time to ensure that the question of how to get our local governments working is at the centre of our national conversations about the future and promise of Nigeria.
“It is said that you cannot build something on nothing. If you don’t fix the local government administration, you will just go round and round.”