Expressing his views on the recent call by the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, to eliminate the list of local government areas from the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Second Republic politician, Tanko Yakasai, emphasized that the issue at hand was primarily a constitutional concern.
Yakasai underscored the necessity of any such decision being debated at the National Assembly before being imposed on other Nigerians or groups.
He highlighted that the legislators are currently in the process of amending the constitution and suggested that the Yoruba group should present their proposal to the National Assembly as prescribed by the constitution.
He warned that advocating for the removal of LGAs, regardless of the rationale or perceived benefits, could potentially impede the progress of the grassroots level of governance and adversely affect the local populace.
Afenifere had recently demanded the elimination of the list of local government areas from the 1999 constitution in order to uphold true federalism.
In a statement released after a special meeting of its national caucus, Afenifere criticized the Federal Government’s lawsuit seeking complete autonomy for the country’s 774 local government areas.
The group, convened at the residence of its leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, argued that the autonomy suit for LGAs displayed a lack of political resolve to restructure the nation.
Afenifere pointed out that the relief sought by the Federal Government would be ineffective unless Section 162 (6) of the 1999 Constitution was amended.
Section 162 (6) stipulates that each state should uphold a special account known as the State Joint Local Government Account, where all allocations for the local government councils within the state from the Federation Account and the State Government are to be deposited.
Afenifere asserted that the governance of LGAs should be the responsibility of the federating units and argued that listing LGAs in the Constitution contradicted the principles of Federalism.
