SUBEB Recruitment: When Will Gov. Abdulrazaq Stop Suffocating Kwara LGs?
About two months ago, the Federal Government initiated a legal action against the 36 state governments, alleging misconduct in the administration of local government councils. The suit, filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), sought full autonomy for all local government councils in the country.
The Kwara State Government, which was one of the defendants in the case, however, asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the suit filed by the Federal Government. It argued that granting local councils full autonomy would further impoverish most Nigerians who are downtrodden in the local government areas. In the reasoning of the Kwara state government, allocations to the councils are not enough for the councils to cater for their obligations.
It is, however, surprising to see that the State government that made this position just few weeks ago is the same one that is determined to add more financial burden on the local councils as it is set to engage a total of 1,600 teaching and non-teaching staff for basic schools that are under the control of the councils. This move, though providing necessary staff, contradicts the principle of local government autonomy affirmed by law and will constitute additional financial burdens on the councils.
Recently, the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, said he believed in full autonomy for local government areas, saying that “It is my personal belief that each local government should manage its resources and be responsible for its obligations, including wages that are first-line charges. The State Governor should not be held liable if any local government is unable to pay salaries since we do not touch a kobo of their money.”
However, the governor’s assertion that each local government should manage its resources and be responsible for its obligations, including salaries, rings hollow in light of his government’s latest decision to recruit staff whose welfare responsibility lie on the councils. If Governor Abdulrazaq truly believes in full autonomy for the councils and that each council should manage its resources and be responsible for its obligations including salaries, why did he give approval for the recruitment of teachers for schools that are clearly under the control of the local governments?
The hypocritical posture and the double-standards of the governor stinks, and it's time for him to come clean on his true intentions regarding local government autonomy. The recruitment exercise is no doubt a calculated attempt by the Abdulrazaq administration to further suffocate and bury the LG system and eventually use it to support its position that autonomy would further impoverish the councils.
Additionally, the state government's move suggests a desire to maintain control over local government affairs, rather than allowing them to operate independently, as envisioned by the constitution and recently affirmed by the Supreme Court. Speculations are also rife that the recruitment exercise was designed as part of a ploy to cover up the mismanagement of local governments' funds that has been going on for a while. If recruitment is necessary, each local government should be allowed to determine its own staffing needs and make decisions accordingly, rather than being dictated to by the state government.
Away from the recruitment saga, another question Kwarans seem not to be asking the Abdulrazaq administration is about the finances of the 16 local government councils of the State, which have been shrouded in utter secrecy. No one knows how much revenues including federal allocations that the councils receive monthly and how these monies are spent.
Since May 2023, there has been a significant increment in federal allocations to the councils, but the people at the grassroots are not feeling its impact. Aside salary payment, what’s the Abdulrazaq-led government doing with the funds accruing to our local councils? What projects or programmes are being implemented by the councils that commensurate with the huge monthly allocations they now receive? For instance, between May 2023 and July 2024, Ilorin East local government where I hail from, has received almost N5billion as federal allocations. Are the people of Ilorin East feeling the impact of these allocations in terms of developmental projects and programmes? The answer is a capital NO. What exactly is our allocations being used for aside payment of salaries? We don’t know. There needs to be accountability as to how our collective resources are being used, but who do we hold accountable – Governor Abdulrazaq or his stooges at the councils?
Kwarans want to know the current staff strength and wage bill of each of the 16 local government councils. These are issues that should be addressed by the government. It is not enough for Abdulrazaq and his government to keep saying they uphold transparency and accountability; they should start acting it.
Engr. Abdulraheem Kehinde.
Deputy Publicity Secretary
The People's Voice Advocacy Network
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