Amid intensifying calls for local government autonomy in Nigeria, former Lagos State governor and ex-Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has argued that true autonomy for local councils is currently unattainable under the country’s constitutional framework.
Speaking on Channels Television’s *Sunrise* programme on Saturday, Fashola emphasized that local governments remain significantly constrained by the influence of state governments and their legislative assemblies, which, according to him, undermines the concept of autonomy.
“I think that the debate we must have, debate we must have, is whether we really want autonomous local governments. It’s a debate that must be had,” Fashola said. “As it stands today, it is unrealistic to expect autonomy for local governments created by the Constitution.”
Fashola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, explained that local governments are subject to laws enacted by state Houses of Assembly, which contradicts the core idea of autonomy. He noted, “If you look at the legal and ordinary meaning of the word, autonomy, it suggests that you are acting independently without any outside influence and authority. And to that extent, a state House of Assembly making laws for what and how a local government can function is in itself an external influence.”
He further highlighted the control of land—a key resource required by local councils to fulfill their duties—as another major limitation. “Land is essential for responsibilities such as operating slaughterhouses, cemeteries, constructing roads, running primary schools and healthcare centres. Yet, land is controlled by state governments,” he said. “I didn’t think that autonomy was intended.”
According to him, the Constitution’s Fourth Schedule outlines responsibilities for local governments, but those duties are deeply tied to access to land, which remains under state control. “So if we decide that we want autonomous local governments, those are some of the things we have to free up,” he added.
Fashola contended that the constitutional setup leans more toward oversight and collaboration than full independence. “What I think was intended was some sort of collaboration, some sort of supervision, some sort of an oversight of the state over the local government,” he said. “That is inherent in what you will find in Section 162, which deals with the state’s joint local government account.”
Fashola recalls practice before 1999
Reflecting on past governance, Fashola recalled that prior to 1999, local governments directly received allocations from the Federation Account through a system referred to as the Joint Account and Allocation Committee (JAAC). However, after the return to democracy in 1999, it became apparent that many councils were failing in their primary responsibilities, including paying salaries and pensions of local government staff, such as teachers and health workers.
He said, “In the advent of the democratic era, it was found out that there were so many of them, or not a few of them, who had defaulted in the very basic obligation of paying staff salaries, primary healthcare workers, primary school teachers, salaries and pensions. And there was a backlog of debt, and I met some of that debt when I became Governor.”
He attributed this situation as a factor behind the establishment of the joint state-local government account system, which was intended to provide oversight. “Whether the supervisors have now become as culpable as those they were supervising is another narrative entirely,” he remarked.
Commenting on the Supreme Court’s July 2024 judgment, which barred state governors from dissolving elected local government councils and granted them financial autonomy, Fashola expressed mixed feelings. While acknowledging the poor state of local governance, he noted that some legal experts are uncertain about whether the ruling aligns with the Constitution.
“No patriot would say that all was well with the state of local governments in Nigeria,” he said, adding that the recent conduct of council elections is a positive development in the push for greater independence at the grassroots level.
