The Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) in Delta has identified fiscal restructuring and devolution of Federal Government Areas [LGAs] as panacea to the survival of local governments in the country.
Analysts said that the various unions demanding the LG autonomy should rather join ALGON in its call for urgent fiscal restructuring of the country.
They also clarified that he declining fortunes of local governments in Nigeria, was due to the disproportionate sharing formula of the country’s revenue. Yet, the greatest challenge facing the third tier of government is the meagre 20 per cent share of Federal Allocation to the 774 local governments in Nigeria.
This is grossly inadequate to meet the councils’ first line charge, which is the payment of salaries, not to talk of provision of basic social amenities at the grassroots.
Granting autonomy to the LGs would not achieve the desired results without adequate revenue adjustment and conscious constitutional amendment towards reducing the powers at the centre.
It has also emphasised that until a conscious effort was made to rejig the local government system in the areas of funding and functions, Nigeria’s yearning for growth and development would remain a mirage.
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