Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South, has stressed the importance of enacting robust laws to support local government autonomy and strengthen the institution. He shared his views during an interactive session with journalists in Kano, where he attended a constitutional review committee retreat over the weekend.
Ndume pointed out that while he fully supports local government autonomy, certain key issues must be addressed to make it practical and sustainable. He recalled the effective role local governments played in the past, noting how they once built roads, provided electricity, and constructed primary schools.
“I support local government autonomy because I witnessed its effectiveness during my secondary school days before they started losing their powers. However, some local governments today cannot even pay their staff, teachers, or health workers if left to operate independently,” Ndume said.
He cautioned against granting blanket autonomy, as some local governments are not financially capable of functioning independently. Ndume highlighted the joint account system, which allows funds to be distributed among local governments to address disparities in financial capacity.
“This is what we need to consider in the constitutional review—how to make local governments practical, efficient, and viable,” he stated.
On the matter of who should conduct local government elections, Ndume expressed his support for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take on the responsibility, arguing that the commission is currently underutilized.
“I support INEC conducting local government elections. They already manage presidential, National Assembly, gubernatorial, and state assembly elections, so why not local government elections too?” he asked.
Ndume also criticized proposals to create separate local government election commissions, calling it unnecessary and impractical. He emphasized that INEC should be used for all elections and urged for technological advancements in the voting process to ensure transparency.
“Why complicate elections? We should be making laws that ensure votes count and explore technology, like voting via mobile phones, to make elections more credible,” he added.
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