An aspirant on the platform of People’s Democratic Party in the upcoming Anambra 2021 gubernatorial elections, Chidi Onyemelukwe, has described as worrisome the neglect and abuse of the local government system in the country.
Onyemelukwe made the statement in Nando, Anambra East Local Government Area of the state , while fielding questions from journalists on the sidelines of the second session of the fourth synod of the Anglican Diocese of Niger West.
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She said that the loopholes and neglect of local governments have rendered the operation of federal government system dysfunctional.
According to Onyemelukwe, those ambiguities in Nigeria’s constitution that allow state governments to annex and treat local governments as their operational extensions are the major problems in the operation of system .
Onyemelukwe said that the local government were created as autonomous governance structures and state governors are not allowing them to operate.
She, however, appreciated various legal instruments like executive bills, executive orders and guidelines issued by Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies in successive federal governments, including the Buhari administration to address the anomaly.
She however said that such instruments always fall short of the mark because of their inferiority to the Constitution which stands supreme to all other laws.
According to her, any meaningful approach to the issue must come through a rigorous constitutional amendment process.
Onyemelukwe also said that, if elected the governor of the state, she would guarantee local government autonomy by holding local government elections within its first year in office.
