LG Autonomy : Why State Houses Of Assembly Will Still Have Power On LGs – OSSIEC Boss, Hashim

Chairman of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission, OSSIEC, Barrister Abioye Hashim, has disclosed that despite the recent Supreme Court verdict on Local Government financial autonomy, state houses of assembly will still approve budget and appropriate funds for local governments.

Hashim, in an interview with Punch said it is inevitable because there is no structure put in place at the local government with the power to approve budgetary provisions and appropriate funds in any financial year for any local council.

According to the OSSIEC boss “It should be noted that a local council, despite the financi al autonomy, is not shielded from the oversight functions of a state assembly. There is no structure in place at the local government level empowering any authority to approve budgetary provisions and appropriate funds in any financial year for any local council except the state legislature by virtue of Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution.

“By that provision, the powers of a House of Assembly with regards to administrative and organisational structure of a local council is very much intact. Moreover, members of the staff of a local council are employees of the Local Government Service Commission, a state executive body.”

He further explained that “Recruitment, appointment, promotion, salaries, pensions and all other matters connected to the staff of a local council are subject to the control of the Local Government Service Commission.

“Chieftaincy affairs are of the local government with the state government having some supervisory and administrative roles which it does through the Ministry in charge of Chieftaincy Affairs. All these point to the fact that the financial autonomy to the local government as pronounced by the Supreme Court is not at large.

“At any rate, the Supreme Court’s decision has set the ball rolling and all relevant stakeholders must key into the new dawn in our grassroots democracy.”