UNDP
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has called for strengthening of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) for effective service delivery to advocate on critical issues such as local government autonomy, full decentralisation of functions of local governments and timely conduct of local government elections towards promoting good governance.
This was contained in a report, titled “Consolidated Report of Assessment of Good Urban Governance in Nigeria”, which was presented at a national dialogue organised by the UNDP in collaboration with UN-Habitat and National Bureau of Statistics.
The report recommended the autonomy (political and finance) of local governments in order to enhance their capabilities for service delivery to the citizenry as well as review of budgeting system to relate to service delivery.
The UNDP findings at the end of a three year study on Good Urban Governance (GUG) which was conducted through UN Habitat in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said it is only when local governments are autonomous that they can satisfy the basic service needs of the Nigerian people.
Habitat Programme Manager for Nigeria at UN Habitat, Professor Johnson Bade Falade, while presenting the report noted that the research conducted indicated that the constitution saddles the local government with 14 roles for the people which many state governments have hijacked leaving local governments to render much fewer roles than they were statutorily entrusted with.
While citing Lagos and some other state governments he disclosed that the situation has impeded on the local governments from mobilising revenue.
Falade said all local governments confirmed that they do not enjoy autonomy from states adding that their independence and finances are highly encroached upon, and they unable to generate funds as much as they ought to. On education, the report identified that all 19 local governments where data was gathered in six states and FCT have more than 75 per cent enrolment in primary education and are likely to meet the Millennium Development Goals on primary education, except in Gombe.
