Lessons on Local Governance.

During the OST nationwide survey which covered 13 states in the six geo-political zones in Nigeria, a recurring complaint made by the people was that the Local Government officials executed projects without consulting the people on their most pressing needs. One is forced to ask why the officials take up projects without involving the people they govern.
One of the advantages of a democratic system of government is that there is increased civic participation in the sense that the people play a key role in determining what projects are necessary, any governing body that carries out projects without consultation in most cases incurs the anger and disgruntlement of its people. Aniri Local council of Enugu state is a perfect example of this where according to the Guardian Sunday, August 9th 2009 the roads are in serious disrepair, there is poor provision of health care services and no water supply. The projects embarked on by the council chairman include building a corpers lodge and public toilets which according to the people is not what is important. It is evident that there is a disconnect in communication or are the officials being dictatorial? Regardless of what the situation is in Aniri Local council, local councils in Nigeria need to be a lot more responsive to the people’s needs and provide services efficiently and effectively.

- Nkeiru.

A bumpy ride.

According to the Guardian Sunday, August 9 2009, the representative of Mushin constituency I in the Lagos state House of Assembly, Mr. Kako Are has provided the children in Mushin with free transportation to school. The representative has purchased trucks to convey children to school every morning, free of charge. However, from the pictures in the Guardian the truck is obviously filled to capacity with young children, the truck is said to take up to 300 children per trip. Healthy? Not too sure, but it certainly seems to do the job of getting the kids to school on time, reducing the financial burden on parents who can barely afford to pay the transport fares of their children and ensuring that a higher number of children are able to go to school. The effort of this representative is fair and should be supported by other members of the community so that the ride is made more comfortable. This new practice of conveying children to school free of charge should be replicated by all other constituencies.
Improving the livelihood of the people in a community is the responsibility of the local government, representatives at the state house of assembly and also the people themselves who should make demands from their representatives and come up with strategies to secure a better life.

- Nkeiru

Oshiomhole Gets 48-Hour Ultimatum from Edo PDP

Some more on the suspension of the Oredo Local Government Chairman. The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo South senatorial district of Edo state, has given Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, 48-hour ultimatum to reverse his decision to suspend the Chairman of Oredo Local Government Council, Mr Mike Ehima or face the wrath of members of the party. The allegations made by members of the public during our research were not farfetched. They alleged the chairman was imposed on them by the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) and did not bother to challenge him especially as he was (evidently)) well connected in Edo State politics.
I can only imagine the people’s relief when the Governor finally stepped in by suspending him for two months, following allegations of impropriety levelled against him by the councillors in the locality. However, let’s not lose sight of the constitutional implications - the leadership in the Edo State House of Assembly wrote a letter to the governor describing his action as illegal and urged him to properly look at the relevant local government laws and reverse his decision. According to section 20 of the 2006 law, it is the sole prerogative of the State House of Assembly to approve the suspension of a council chairman after the Governor must have written to them requesting for the suspension. In this case, the Governor only wrote to the House on the 27th of July and the House explained that the matter will be treated when they resume plenary on the 7th of September. The governor went on to suspend the chairman and swore in the Vice Chairman which has been deemed illegal by all parties.
In my opinion, it was an act of desperation by the governor who was sure the PDP law makers in the house would frustrate any effort to suspend the chairman because of party allegiances. But does this justify the governor’s action (of not following due process) and creating a scenario, where the chairman could be returned to office and the people are made to put up with their ineffective chairman for a tad longer than necessary?

- Hadiza.

Oshiomole suspends council boss.

Last Friday’s This Day reported that the Edo state governor, Adams Oshiomhole, suspended the chairman of Oredo local government, Mr. Mike Ehiman, following allegations of impropriety levelled against him by the councillors in the locality. During the Fact Finding Survey conducted by OST in April, we visited Oredo local government and the responses from members of the community indicated that his performance in delivering community development projects was less than perfect. According to the respondents, during his two terms in office (a total of four), the chairman had carried out only two projects, the renovation of a primary school (which was constantly flooded and had broken-down gates) and a borehole (that barely worked after installation).
Most of the infrastructure in Oredo is decaying due to negligence by the local government, the roads are a narrative of poor maintenance, and even the standard practice of filling a few potholes here and there doesn’t happen in Oredo. The lack of any proper drainage system means the area is prone to flooding and homes could be lost to erosion due to the drainage problem. When we asked why they did not raise these issues with the chairman, they said they had no access to him despite the fact that he lives amongst them, the security guards at his gate turn them back every time they have been over to see him at home. Protesting against the chairman, we were told, is not an option as he is well connected in Edo politics and had the unflagging support of his political party (PDP).

- Hadiza















The views of the author are not neccessarily the views of OST.

Accountable Government

A common feature in daily newspapers is local government councils presenting their budget to the public but what we never see the revenue and expenditure account of the local government. Without accurate financial information, delivered regularly, in an accessible format, citizens lack the knowledge they need to secure their rights and discharge their duties. In this regard, a lack of government accountability and transparency undermines democracy and gives rise to cynicism and mistrust.
This result is reflected in our survey, which revealed deep dissatisfaction among the public with both the unavailability of local government financial information and their usual reluctance to provide such information. Much of this dissatisfaction has to do with issues of trust and a gap between what the public expects and what is actually delivered. {The visit of the elected officials to the EFCC would be dramatically reduced (as it was in Warri South), if unlimited accessibility to financial information is granted to stakeholders in the local government council}

- Hadiza

Civic Participation

All around the world, local government councils are using civic participation strategies to inform policy decision, build stronger communities and create more effective governance. In Nigeria, we need to strengthen representative’s democracy; we need to get the people more involved in local governance especially in the budgetary process. The elected officials have few methods of knowing what the ordinary, unaffiliated citizens feel about issues, for example, during focus group discussions; the people repeatedly complained that the elected officials don’t consult with the people on their immediate needs when planning development projects. Instead they listen to their ‘godfathers’ or political touts who are always around the elected officials and who are primarily concerned with pursuing their personal interest. Collectively, ordinary, unaffiliated citizens have the capacity to make better judgements for the public than the usual suspects. The elected officials are indebted to their party and funders, so they don’t enjoy the freedom to care for the good of all. We need to think up better ways to convene people into meaningful deliberation that inform our elected officials about what the public wants.

- Hadiza

Taxation

Taxation should be something we view as a necessary civic duty, as part of living in a country in which if someone gets sick they can go to a hospital, if someone's homeless we can find them basic accommodation, if some child's parents can't or won't send them to a decent school we'll make sure they have the opportunity of a good education. So am I obliged to pay my taxes as a Nigerian? The local government officials are of the opinion that people should only have a right to demand responsibility from their council, if they pay their taxes. What do you think?

- Hadiza