LG Autonomy: Ploy to destroy cultural democracy, grab land for herdsmen – ARG

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) has raised the alarm over the proposed bills that will purportedly grant autonomy to Local Government Areas in the ongoing constitution amendment exercise.

NASS had passed two bills: to abrogate Joint Allocation Accounts Committee and another one to guarantee funding only for LGAs with democratically elected executives. These two bills, if passed by at least 24 state Houses of Assembly, will make LGAs independent of state governments.

The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, ARG, said that there were traps hidden in the Land Use Act which the National Assembly cleverly refused to remove from the Constitution.

A statement issued by ARG’s Publicity Secretary, Kunle Famoriyo said an example, is Section 6(1)(b) says that “(1) It shall be lawful for a Local Government in respect of land not in an urban area…to grant customary right of occupancy to any person or organisation for the use of land for grazing purposes and such other purposes ancillary to agricultural purposes…”

“The customary right of occupancy can be as much as 500 hectares if granted for agricultural purposes, or 5,000 hectares if granted for grazing purposes.

“The main reason for the push to remove LGA from under the control of state governments is to make this clause in the Land Use Act enforceable. The so called autonomy therefore is a “Greek Gift” and states with recent history of herdsmen attack had better collaborate with other states to reject it. ARG will work with states in the southwest to totally agitate against it.

“The advocates of autonomy for LGAs need to convince Nigerians of the benefit of such, despite the glaring fact that it is an aberration in any federalism and it works against development. If Nigeria is yet to get the possible maximum good governance from 36 executive powers granted to states, what will creating additional 774 executive powers bring? Total waste and failure,” ARG claims.

ARG added that this plan would further destroy federalism in Nigeria and turn it effectively into a unitary state.

“However, we must remind Nigerians that there is nothing the federal government has taken over, since the enactment of the Unification Decree 34 of 1966, that has flourished. As example, the Liberty Stadium in Ibadan was already hosting international boxing fight before it was taken over. Today, it cannot even host national championships.

“In the same vein are WNTV, Obafemi Awolowo University, Cocoa Research Institute (CRIN), Moore Plantation and many other notable institutions.

“We can assure you that LGAs will be worse off if this so called autonomy is allowed to pass. This is because those controlling Abuja have no better plan for the country other than as a conquest. ARG warns all state Houses of Assembly to resist this legislation,” it said.