Local government financial autonomy has been one which stakeholders in governance and the civil society in Nigeria have been clamouring for overtime, owing to the fact that when fully passed the local government will enjoy substantial autonomy in financial matters like ownership of the treasury, separate budgets, and accounts based on effective reliable income generation from within and outside its domain, calls have been made for various states to ratify the agreement.
In Kano state, media practitioners have called on the government to ratify the local government administrative and financial autonomy bill as it would protect the local government from redundant interference from other tiers of government and to enable it play substantial roles in the national development process.
Dr Maude Gwadabe, a media consultant says the ratification of the local government autonomy bill in the state will further deepen democracy in the state as it will help in creating real development and enhance citizen participation in governance. He believes that when the bill becomes a law Kano, it will signify the journey to real democracy across board.
‘’It is imperative that the government in Kano hastens the process of accenting to this bill because if it doesn’t happen before the tenure of the current administration ends, the process will have to start afresh when a new government comes on board. Now that it has taken an advanced stage, what is left is for the assembly to do the needful by assenting to the bill and then passing it to the governor to sign it into law.’’ He said.
Dr Gwadabe is certain that when other media practitioners in Kano advocate for the steady ratification of this bill into law, the decision-makers at various levels will understand the enormous potential of this bill to further spread the dividends of democracy to all levels in the state.
Meanwhile, Nafisa Murtala, a seasoned broadcaster while speaking to newsmen said the actualization of local government autonomy is achievable in Kano because the process of attaining autonomy for local government has been in the pipeline over time, as certain states had domesticated the bill.
She stressed that the media has the responsibility to engage the Kano state government to domesticate the bill in the state. ‘’ The media is the voice of the people and they hold the responsibility to make the government accountable to the people’’ She said.
Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Kano while speaking with Daily News24 stated that as part of the mandates of the media to hold the government accountable to the people, journalists are on course as they are requesting the Kano state government to hastily pass the local government financial autonomy bill into law.
‘’Even though there are allegations of excesses by local governments of given the autonomy they desire, the advantages outweighs the disadvantages because the local government autonomy will enable the implementation of grassroots-oriented projects, one which will meet the desire of the people and will enable them to have what is due them, as per the revenue collected on behalf of the people.’’
It is expected that following this push by the media, concrete actions will be taken by the government to ensure that ratification of the bill takes due course.
