FG committed to LGA’s financial autonomy – Minister

The federal government says it is committed to ensuring that local governments are given financial autonomy as part of measures to ensure effective governance at the grassroots.

The Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Zephaniah Bitrus Jisalo, said this on Thursday in Abuja at the close of a two-day conference of functionaries and key actors in local government administration.

He noted that the local government is a very important tier of governance that cannot be overlooked and that if the government gets it right at that level, it will reflect positively on the state and federal tiers of government.

Jisalo said corruption, political interference, and lack of capacity among local government officials are major setbacks for development at the local level.

“If financial autonomy is not granted to LGAs there will be a disconnect between the government and the governed at the grassroots level that will hinder development and service delivery,” he said.

The Chairman, the House of Representatives Committee on Special Duties, Tukur Ibrahim assured Nigerians that the National Assembly would pass the local government autonomy bill.

He urged Nigerians to mount pressure on state assemblies to also pass the bill.