The Bauchi State Government has expressed its readiness to fully implement the Supreme Court judgment granting autonomy to LGAs in the state.
The declaration was made on Tuesday after a stakeholders’ consultative meeting held at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, presided over by the State Governor, Sen. Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir, alongside his Deputy, Rt. Hon. Auwal Jatau, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abubakar Y. Suleiman.
Briefing journalists at the end of the meeting, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Aminu Hammayo, stated that the State Government will soon present two Executive Bills to the State House of Assembly on how to address the issue.
According to him, “Over the last six to seven months, the most topical issue in Nigeria was the autonomy of the LGAs, which arose as a result of the Supreme Court judgment granting autonomy to LGAs.
“A lot of discussions have taken place around it, and the Governor felt it necessary for us, as a state, to examine issues surrounding LGCs’ autonomy in order to come up with a framework and key provisions to guide us in implementing local government autonomy,” he added.
The SSG further stated, “Consequently, a roundtable meeting of stakeholders was convened, which held throughout the day with chairpersons of the LGCs in attendance. We had several paper presentations addressing LG administration, revenue generation and sharing formula, current structure, and other relevant issues.”
Aminu Hammayo added that there were various inputs and debates on the presentations, leading to the formulation of two bills that will be sent to the House of Assembly to define how best to run local government administration in Bauchi State.
According to him, “Two draft bills were prepared and presented by the Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice. They are the Local Government Administration Bill 2025 and a law for the state to implement local government autonomy.”
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He stated that the two bills were discussed and scrutinised by the stakeholders at the meeting, with reactions elicited, noted, and accommodated to ensure all views and opinions contribute to perfect legislation.
The SSG assured that the bills will be presented to the State House of Assembly for legislative purposes and eventual passage into law, in line with the Supreme Court judgment granting autonomy to LGAs in the country.
Aminu Hammayo assured that the State Government is doing everything possible to ensure there are no hitches in the implementation of the autonomy, adding that it will result in smooth administration.
