President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will on Monday in Abuja declare open a one-day national discourse on Nigeria’s security challenges and good governance at the local government level.
The event organised by the leadership of the 10th House of Representatives, seeks to entrench federal system of government with responsibilities, powers, and resources shared among the federal, states, and local governments.
President Tinubu is expected to deliver the keynote address on ‘Enhancing national security through effective Local Government system in Nigeria’.
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According to the organisers, “the broad objective of the national dialogue is to provide a platform for critical
stakeholders to reflect on the governance framework at the grassroots, identify challenges and make appropriate recommendations on how to address the issues.
“The specific objectives are to: discuss the key challenges or bottlenecks inhibiting effective governance at the
grassroots/local government level.
“Ascertain the extent to which weak governance at the LG level contributes to insecurity and other developmental/existential challenges confronting the nation and citizens.
“Galvanize public action for improved governance and service delivery at the
subnational leveraging ongoing reforms such as the debate on state police and the Constitution amendment exercise.
“Build national consensus on the most appropriate strategy or approach on strengthening governance at the local government level.”
As encapsulated in the programme,
“Some analysts have likened the Nigeria governance structure as a pyramid with the Local governments at the base, states in the middle, and the Federal government at the top of the pyramid. Based on this framework, the Local Government Councils are saddled with the responsibility of providing basic municipal functions and bring governance closer to the people at the grassroots.
“Some have also described the local governments as the first line of defence in our governance architecture addressing communal, local, grassroots related governance and developmental challenges.
“Unfortunately, the Local Government Councils (LGCs) across the federation have not been able to effectively discharge their mandate thereby creating a huge void in the governance and service delivery value chain. The relative dysfunction at this tier of government has contributed to poor human development outcomes, rural-urban migration, violent crimes and conflict, as well as the unabated rise in poverty levels.
“Some political analysts, development experts, and political commentators, have attributed most of Nigeria’s developmental challenges to the seeming collapse of governance at this very critical tier that is expected to provide a buffer for the states and federal government.
“Others have also drawn a correlation between rural urban migration and its attendant implications to the near absence of or collapse of governance at the grassroots level. Poor governance at the local level have also created ungoverned spaces that has been exploited by non-state actors to make life unbearable tor citizens or the rural populace.
“Efforts made by the 7th, 8th, and 9th NASS to reform the local government management framework by altering the 1999 Constitution was not successful. While different reasons were adduced for the failure of the initiatives to scale through, the situation has continued to deteriorate with no clear alternative measures aimed at addressing the problem.
“Recently, the Federal and State Governments as well as the NASS initiated steps to amend the constitution to create State Police as a panacea to the problem of insecurity across the country. While this initiative is laudable, some have argued that deploying kinetic approaches and deployment of force may not sufficiently address the humongous challenge of insecurity, without addressing some of the root causes.”
Some of the digntaries invited include: Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq of Kwara State; Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State; among others.
Also invited are: Professor Dakas Dakas, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba; Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi; National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun; Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, among others.
