OPINION: Who ‘ll rescue Oyo LGs from Makinde? | By Morufu Smith

Oyo Local Governments run by caretaker committees under late Governor Abiola Ajimobi fared far better than the LGs being run by elected chairmen under Governor Seyi Makinde (GSM).

Governor Makinde is stifling the growth of local governments in the state. When the governor was campaigning, he always took a swipe at the immediate past administration for concentrating on rehabilitation of roads leading to the state.

He assured Oyo citizens that his government was going to concentrate on rural roads when elected.

How many kilometers of rural roads have been constructed, reconstructed, repair, or rehabilitated by the present crops of local government administrations in Oyo State as we speak?

The arrest of the Oyo state Accountant General, Alhaji Gafar Bello and the Director of Treasury by EFCC operatives confirmed that the State under Makinde was releasing financial crumbs to local government chairmen to pay salaries of local government workers and do nothing else while the State sits on the huge financial remains belonging to LGs to take care of State’s expenses.

How executive are the local government chairmen since the governor continues to disallow them from being truly executive in office? These are ‘executive’ chairmen who would go cap-in-hand to request for what’s constitutionally theirs from the governor!

The 9th National Assembly headed by the duo of Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila caused the local governments in Nigeria to sniff breeze of financial freedom when the Nigerian lawmakers passed, among others, LG financial autonomy bill into law.

Heartwarming stuff, ehn? What it however remains for the breeze of financial freedom to come full cycle for local governments in Nigeria is for two-thirds of State Houses of Assembly to also say ‘AYES’ to the bill.

Will governors like Seyi Makinde allow the bill to fly in their state parliaments?

Why would a Governor who claimed his administration has increased IGR considerably still rely on LG funds to run the State.

As an aside, why is our Governor looking chubby and well-fed in Government House? As a possessor of 48 Billion Naira outside government, why was Mr. Makinde looking leaner, malnourished?

 

Morufu Smith, writes from Ibadan, Oyo State.