A former presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adamu Garba, has called for the scrapping of Nigeria’s local government system, describing it as an ineffective, paper-only, money-sharing third tier of government.
Garba made this position on his X handle on Sunday, where he alleged that local governments had become little more than Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) of state governors.
He argued that it was practically impossible to implement the Supreme Court ruling granting autonomy to local government councils.
“One of the most inefficient, ineffective back pocket of some state governors is the local government councils. Local governments take their legislation from the state assemblies, and you know what that means. Autonomy or not, the LGs are still ATMs of some state governors,” he said.
The APC chieftain further claimed that Nigeria’s three-tier system of government was unique and unworkable compared to other nations.
“In reality, there is no any country on earth that has third tier of government except Nigeria. Since it proved to be non-workable, why not scrap it?” Garba stated.
Garba then suggested that authority at the grassroots be handed over to traditional rulers, who, he argued, were better placed to manage local affairs instead of continuing with a failed system.
“Instead of struggling to get constitutional authority to local government councils, they should be handed over to the traditional rulers and let them run it according to the local culture and tradition of the people within their domain,” he added.
