Gov Soludo, Applauds Supreme Court Ruling On LG Financial Autonomy, As Governors Plan Emergency Meeting

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Even as the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, is planning an emergency meeting to review the Supreme Court verdict which granted financial autonomy to Local Councils, Anambra State Governor, Prof Charles Soludo, has described the verdict as a welcome development.

He said the position of the Country’s Apex Court is in agreement with his administration’s policy-trust of allowing State resources to trickle down  to the grassroots.

Prof Soludo who spoke at an interactive session with the Media at the presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday, July 11, noted that the financial autonomy for the Councils will help in enthroning a regime of accountability and transparency in the management of public funds.

According to him, the development will engender an enabling environment for the thriving of democracy and rule of laws in the country.

“The verdict is great. The Supreme Court is supreme. It is the final authority and I am a democrat . I believe in the rule of law and once the Supreme Court has spoken  it has spoken, and I understand the Governors Forum is meeting to review the situation.

I haven’t seen the document myself. I have been busy all through the day. But I have seen snippets of it .

“But at a fundamental level, yes, we need resources to get down to the  grassroots and we need the people’s money to work for them at all levels, whether at the Federal, State or the Local Government level.

“We need to promote accountability .We need to promote transparency in the utilization of public resources at all levels ,to be able to lift the burden off the common man” the Anambra state Governor stated.

While reiterating the commitment of his administration to holding free and fair Local Government Polls, Prof Soludo, however, lamented  that a plethora of  lingering litigations had, in the past    frustrated all efforts to institute democratic governance at the Third Tier of Government.

With the enactment of the Act establishing the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission, the Governor informed that elections will soon be held.

Further speaking, he emphasised that it has always been the intention of his administration to embark on efforts aimed at getting resources to the grassroots.

According to him, the religious payments of teachers salaries, pensioners and primary health workers is part of intentional efforts  at taking resources to the grassroots.

“Well, we are going to hold Local Government Polls.  It was one of the things that I promised our people when I was elected into office.

“I have to be honest with you. the first Local Government Election we had was in in 1998 or something  thereabouts. Then the next one was in 2014 or 2013.

“And that was it. So,for me ,I  promised the people of Anambra that we are going to have Local Government Election, and I stated that in my inaugural speech.

“We have just enacted  the Independent Electoral Commission Act and we are putting together the institutions to be able to organize the election.

“It is a promise I made as mentioned before, and when I make a promise  I keep it. I am a believer in having a democratic system” Soludo noted.