President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan has renewed calls for the full autonomy of local government administration in Nigeria, to enable them attend to many of the rural challenges facing the country.
Lawan said this when he formally declared open, this year’s Local Government Economics Summit in Abuja.
According to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, who was represented by Senator Ibrahim Danbaba, Nigeria may not be able to deal sufficiently with many of its challenges at the grassroots, unless it deliberately guarantees full autonomy for local government councils.
Some of the local challenges have manifested in the form of banditry and kidnapping in the country.
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The National President of the National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, Ambali Olatunji, shared similar views with Lawan.
He linked the current state of insecurity to the collapse of local government administration in the country.
According to him, unless the 774 local governments in Nigeria are granted full administrative and financial autonomy, the country might have to contend with banditry, kidnapping and insurgency for a very long time.
The event which was being organized by the Senate Committee on State and Local Government Administration drew participants and stakeholders from both the state and the federal levels.
The theme for this year’s summit is: “Local Government System: Resilience for Sustainable Development”.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark) (Reporter : Omor Bazuaye)
