Former Minister Blames Governors for Local Government Administration Crisis in Nigeria
Former Minister of Health and Science, Technology, and Innovation, Olorunnimbe Mamora, has criticized Nigerian governors for the deterioration of the local government (LG) administration. He accused them of undermining democracy by appointing caretaker chairmen instead of allowing free and fair elections at the grassroots level.
During an interview on Channels Television’s “Inside Sources with Laolu Akande,” Mamora expressed his views candidly, stating that governors had played a significant role in the decay of the local government system. He highlighted events dating back to 1998 when elected local government chairmen sought to extend their three-year tenure to four years in line with state and federal tenures.
Mamora, who was actively involved in challenging this move as the Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly in 2001, explained that the attempt to extend the tenure of local government chairmen was seen as an encroachment on the powers of state houses of assembly as stipulated in Section 7 of the Constitution.
Despite their legal challenge, Mamora revealed that the National Assembly proceeded with the bill to extend the tenure of local government chairmen, leading to a court case. He noted that the case eventually reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that the National Assembly had no authority to determine the tenure of local government officials.
The former Senator for Lagos East Senatorial District also recounted how then-President Olusegun Obasanjo intervened by suggesting the establishment of caretaker committees as a temporary measure to fill the leadership vacuum in local governments. However, Mamora criticized the abuse of caretaker committees by governors, stating that they contravene the constitutional provision for democratically elected chairmen.
Mamora lamented the lack of regular elections in local governments, alleging that opposition parties rarely win, with governor-linked individuals often emerging as chairmen. He concluded by linking the abuse of caretaker committees to the alleged mismanagement of local government funds by some governors.
Channels TV
