Senior Pastor Adewale Giwa of the Awaiting The Second Coming Of Christ Ministry has expressed concerns that state governors may not comply with the recent Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to local government councils.
The judgment, delivered by a seven-member panel of the apex court, instructed the federal government to cease the direct allocation of funds to local governments, accusing state governors of misusing these funds.
Pastor Giwa criticized the governors for acting like “emperors” and undermining local governance by appointing caretaker committees instead of allowing democratic elections for local government representatives.
He argued that this has led to a lack of meaningful projects at the local level, with governors taking over the responsibilities meant for council chairmen.
He stated, “The Supreme Court judgment on LG autonomy is a welcome development.
“However, I doubt if the state governors would toe the line. Over the years, the governors in Nigeria have mismanaged the funds of the LGs.
“To make matters worse, the governors have turned themselves to emperors by unilaterally appointing caretaker committees instead of allowing the electorate to elect their representatives through statutory local government elections.
“Governors now execute projects that ought to have been implemented by the council chairmen. Can you see the level of corruption by the state governors?
“You hardly find meaningful projects in most of the local governments chaired by the appointees of the governors. With this judgment, I hope the affected governors will now put their houses in order and allow the elected Council Chairmen to perform their responsibilities.
“Before the governors hijacked the power of the LG Chairmen, the nation’s LGs were doing well in terms of developments.
“This is because they are closer to the people at the grassroots than the governors. People could easily visit their council areas to see their representatives.”
Giwa charged council chairmen to carry out positive projects, adding that the Federal Government should give local governments what was due to them.
He added, “Nigerians have refused to direct their anger towards the governors in their respective states.
“Instead, they focus more on the presidency, forgetting that charity begins from home. Nigerian governors should be held responsible also.
“Let me also advise politicians who want to be LG chairmen to use this opportunity to execute positive projects in their respective areas. Don’t let your people down; do what is right to ensure you bring good governance to your people.
“The federal government also needs to be sincere while giving the respective LGs what is due for them. Those who are in charge must not use this avenue to enrich their pockets.”
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