By Seyifunmi Odunuga
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Engineer Oyedele Akeem Alao (Allow Alao), has faulted the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, on his stance that governors may not allow local government autonomy.
Ogundoyin who is the Chairman of Conference of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly, was credited to have said in a forum in Abuja on Monday, that various states in the country may not support local government to have administrative.
And financial autonomy because of the fear that the Federal Government may use the local governments against them, adding that doing so could also engender mass corruption at the local government level.
But Alao in a statement by his Media Office, berated Ogundoyin for his position, stating that it would have been better for him to keep quiet rather than presenting himself against the Nigerian masses who are eagerly in dear need of policies that will alleviate their sufferings at the local government level.
According to him, the points canvassed by Ogundoyin against local government autonomy are untenable as they are to make governors as emperors in their states, noting that he lacks the capability to be speaking for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on lacking manpower to investigate corruption at the local government level.
He maintained that having local government autonomy would reduce the suffering of the people at that level as those in the leadership positions would be free from the stronghold of the governors and have money to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.
The Asiwaju of Irokoland while insisting that Ogundoyin was trying to please his master who is Governor Seyi Makinde with the stance he took on local government autonomy.
Alao urged Ogundoyin as a ranking lawmaker to call on his governor and other governors in the country to toe the path of having the interest of the people at hearts by given the local govts autonomy to operate as enshrined in the constitution, noting that working against the constitution is a danger to our democracy.
He added that the positions canvassed by Ogundoyin against local govt autonomy are not only illogical constitutionally but also lacked merit of constructive reasoning within the framework of democratic principle, stating that state governors have turned the third tier of government to ordinary clive of parochial governance with anarchy the order of the day.
He said, “I have no doubt in my mind that the statement credited to Hon. Ogundoyin was intentionally made to play to the gallery in the interest of his master. The way the governors have grounded governance at the local government level I do not believe that anybody that wants the best for the masses at that tier of government will speak against local government autonomy.
“Allowing the governors to continue with their looting of the resources at the local government level would be disastrous for the country and the fear of corruption by those at the positions of leadership as well as domineering act by Federal Government over the councils lacked coherence and nothing but self-serving on the part of the governors.”