…Says grassroots governance crippled by political interference, poor implementation
Former National President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Akeem Ambali, has criticised the continued poor performance of local governments in Nigeria, saying the Supreme Court judgment granting them financial autonomy has yet to translate into effective grassroots governance.
Ambali lamented that despite the legal backing for local government autonomy, councils remained largely ineffective, undermining service delivery and denying communities the development expected from the third tier of government.
He spoke on Tuesday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, where he examined the challenges confronting local government administration and the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment.
The former NULGE president described local government as the neighbourhood tier of administration, stressing that it was the closest level of government to ordinary Nigerians and should serve as the first point of contact for basic public services.
He argued that the absence of functional local councils had created a disconnect between government policies and the communities they were designed to benefit, particularly rural areas with limited access to state and federal authorities.
Ambali commended President Bola Tinubu for pursuing local government autonomy, recalling that the issue was among the commitments associated with his political agenda before assuming office.
He said Tinubu adopted a different approach to achieving the objective, eventually securing a Supreme Court judgment on local government financial autonomy.
The former NULGE president, however, questioned why the landmark judgment had not produced the expected improvements in grassroots administration.
He said, “But why Nigerians are not happy is that the issue of local government, which is the neighbourhood government that’s supposed to service the grassroots to make the impact of Tinubu administration more positive, is missing in action.”
Ambali insisted that the judgment remained binding and should guide relations between state governments and local councils, warning against political interference in its implementation.
According to him, the judgment should not be celebrated merely as a political achievement but must be fully implemented to enable councils to discharge their constitutional responsibilities.
He urged Nigerians to make local government autonomy a major issue when assessing political parties and candidates ahead of the next general elections.
He said voters should demand clear commitments on the implementation of the judgment rather than rely on campaign promises and political slogans.
“So, Nigerians, what we are supposed to be asking whoever is coming, apart from the three I’ve mentioned, is where is our local government? Or simply put, implementation of the Supreme Court judgment,” he said.
The former labour leader maintained that local governments should be assessed based on their ability to improve living conditions through functional roads, agricultural support, basic infrastructure and community security.
He lamented that deteriorating rural roads had made it difficult for farmers to transport their produce to markets, recalling that councils previously had graders, excavators and other equipment for maintaining community roads.
“The roads are not passable. Farmers cannot bring back farm produce. Local government in the past had graders, had boilers, excavators, had so many equipment that easily a community can afford,” he said.
Ambali also raised concerns over the management of agricultural interventions, alleging that resources meant for farmers were sometimes distributed through questionable arrangements without properly identifying genuine beneficiaries.
He called on local governments to maintain reliable databases of farmers in their jurisdictions to ensure that agricultural support, including tractors, fertilisers and other equipment, reached those actively engaged in farming.
On security, he advocated the revival of community policing arrangements at the grassroots, arguing that local councils should have the capacity to respond to security challenges within their areas.
The former NULGE president stressed that autonomy should go beyond the transfer of funds to councils, insisting that it must also involve restoring their administrative capacity and independence.
He questioned why communities continued to experience poor infrastructure despite the increased allocations reportedly accruing to local governments.
“A local government that has about N200 million, for God’s sake, no matter how drunk that chairman can be, he will still impact his people positively. But what is wrong with Nigeria is a local government that is missing in action,” he said.
Responding to a caller who questioned the performance of local government workers and the application of key performance indicators in public administration, Ambali argued that workers should not be assessed without considering the resources and institutional support available to them.
Using Eagle FM as an example, he explained that even a functional organisation could struggle to deliver results if its management failed to provide essential resources, including electricity, operational funding and other facilities.
He maintained that local government employees should not be judged solely by their presence or absence at council secretariats, explaining that many of their responsibilities required fieldwork across hospitals, agricultural locations and rural communities.
Drawing from his experience as a former director of community development, Ambali recalled visiting communities such as Iloti, Irawo, Obete, Abule Sikiru and Alabata in the course of his duties.
He said agricultural officers, community development personnel and other local government employees were expected to work directly with residents, making field activities an essential part of grassroots administration.
Ambali also recalled that local government administration was more active during the Babangida era, when councils enjoyed greater independence and carried out visible community development activities.
He alleged that deliberate political interference over the years had weakened local government institutions and reduced their capacity to serve the people.
“That was the time all of them were performing. When Mufu Oseni was in the government, nobody can say that because we were having full activity. Bistro was there, Baba Onabanjo was there. That was when the local government was performing optimally. But somebody deliberately decided local government should be crippled,” he said.
The former NULGE president further argued that federal and state government interventions would have limited impact without functional local councils to connect policies and programmes to their intended beneficiaries.
Citing the distribution of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses as an example, he said effective local government structures would make it easier to ensure that such interventions reached communities and served their intended purposes.
He maintained that the challenge confronting the country was not necessarily the absence of government policies but the failure to establish effective grassroots institutions capable of implementing them.
While expressing sympathy for Tinubu over his efforts to secure local government autonomy, Ambali said the President should be held accountable for ensuring that the process was completed and delivered tangible results.
“As of today, because of local government autonomy, I have sympathy for Tinubu. That is the truth. I am a comrade, I don’t lie. Because I believe, if miraculously, he wins the election, he will be held accountable for what he has started,” he said.
He, however, insisted that the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment should not be subjected to electoral calculations or the political interests of individual officeholders.
Ambali urged Nigerians to demand accountable and functional local government administration from political leaders, stressing that meaningful national development would remain difficult without independent councils.
He said the success of local government autonomy should ultimately be measured by improved rural roads, functional public facilities, stronger agricultural support, community security and accessible public services rather than official declarations or the mere existence of a court judgment.
