Governor of Osun State, Rauf
Aregbesola, has kicked against the agitation for local government autonomy.
According to him, those calling
for local government autonomy were agents of confusion as granting autonomy to
local government councils was antithetical to true federalism.
He said local councils were
administrative units of the state and therefore their autonomy may be the end
of the states.
Aregbesola said this while
speaking at the one-day conference on the second anniversary of the Southwest
in national governance held in Osogbo, the Osun state capital.
He noted that, while settling for
federalism, Nigeria’s founding fathers copied the Indian example, where the
federating units were coordinate with the central government.
“In India, we have a state that
is more than Nigeria in size and population. We also have Goa, which is not
more than Lagos as a state. The large states cannot dominate smaller states.
California cannot dictate to Arkansas. The Federal Government in the United
States cannot interfere in what happens in other states, unless it is invited.
“Also, under the federal system,
the Federal Government cannot interfere in the activities of the local
government. Those calling for local government autonomy are agents of
confusion. I know there are anomalies with the local government administration.
“But, it does not mean that it
should be autonomous under the state. It is against the spirit of federalism.
Whenever the states cease to control the council, that will be the end of the
state.”
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More or less saying, once the local governments become autonomous, chop-chop @ state levels are drastically reduced and no longer worth fighting to become a state governor anymore.
ReplyDeleteGod will one day save us from the deep rooted corruption in this country which is the major reason why our leaders avoid taking decisions that will truly be beneficial for the governed and move the country forward.