By Kassim Omomia
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, took a swipe at  political leaders in  both past and present administrations and admitted that for  too long, they have avoided the hard conversations about the country’s future, especially as it relates  to effective local government administration in the country

Speaking at the 2021 General Assembly of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), the Speaker berated the governance ineptitude at the grassroots but noted that such irresponsiveness was because they were been hampered

Gbajabiamila warned that “We have to fix LG administration to deliver democratic promises”

He explained that  for leaders to deliver on the promise of democratic governance, the local government administration must be fixed to meet its expectations.

“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”

Weighing more on the theme of the General Assembly: ”Strategic Positioning of Local Governments for the Future: A New Era.’ the speaker noted that the topic was a stimulus  that  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

According to him, it was time for all efforts to be channeled toward addressing the problems bedeviling the LG system in the country to make it more efficient and effective.

He stated that being the tier of  government  in Nigeria that is 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.

“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, adding that as a momentous day, the outcomes of the event should be made historic to change the way local governments are being run.

For instance Gbajabiamila said the major task of the local governments was development at the grassroots level but bemoaned a situation where members of the National Assembly like him were called upon by the people at that level to carry out work to be done by that tier of government.

He said though it is the responsibility of the local governments to carry out such works, they could not do that, “because they have been hampered to do that.

He however, assured that the House of Representatives was 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 through the instrument of law

This gesture the speaker added can be achieved with this next round of constitution amendment

“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 ” he said, adding that the ongoing constitution amendment by the National Assembly would address some of the challenges faced in the country.

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According to him, the 9th House of Representatives will not waiver from their  commitment to take whatever legislative actions that are necessary to achieve the highest ambitions the House  has for Nigeria.

On separation of powers within the third tier of government, the Speaker warned that , “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” he stressed