Anambra-based legal practitioner, Ejiofo Umegbogu, has described the Supreme Court judgement that granted financial autonomy to local governments as a welcome development that has triggered off the much-anticipated restructuring of Nigeria.
In an exclusive chat with ABS, Barrister Umegbogu explained that the judgement will strengthen the local government system, shift much attention from the federal and state governments, and empower the masses to begin to ask questions on management of resources at the grassroots.
He however said that the court decision will bring about constitutional crisis if the National Assembly does not commence amendment of the constitution immediately , just as he explained that the populist judgement will also lead to agitation for resource control, as well as creation of more local governments by states.
Barrister Umegbogu explained that with the judgement, the judiciary has passed the buck to the legislature to amend certain sections of the 1999 constitution, including section 7(1), section 162(6) that provides for joint state and local government account, and others that entangle the local government system, without which the judgement will be next to nothing, aside triggering constitutional crisis.
On resource control, the legal practitioner opined that the Supreme Court judgment will re-ignite the agitation for control of resources by states because when the various state governments are starved of funds from local government, states will begin to demand for control of their mineral and other resources to enable them run their affairs and pay tax to the federal government.
He said the judgement will also water the ground for some states to start agitating for creation of more local governments because presently, while some states have about forty local government areas, others have eighteen, meaning more money for the former.
Barrister Umegbogu equally advocated abolition of State Independent Electoral Commissions, SIECs, through the constitutional amendment, to allow the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct elections for local governments in order to guarantee democratically-elected officials, thereby achieving the intention of the federal government.
Barrister Umegbogu however feared that some state Governors may truncate any planned constitutional amendment using the state legislatures, unless the federal government appeals to the conscience and rallies support of the Governors to key into what he called “the wind of change that is blowing”.
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