Former Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, (SAN), has described the idea of full autonomy for local governments in the country as unrealistic, citing constitutional limitations and historical challenges with local governance.
He explained that the Constitution did not support the notion of independent local government administration as often demanded.
Fashola, who stated this while speaking on a television programme at the weekend, said: “I think the debate we must have is whether we really want autonomous local government. As it stands today, it is unrealistic to expect autonomy for local governments created by the constitution. They were not meant to be autonomous – this is my view after a very close reading of certain provisions”.
The former Lagos State governor added that the Constitution empowered state Houses of Assembly to make laws guiding local government economic activities, which contradicts the principle of autonomy.
He said, “If you look at the legal and ordinary meaning of the word: ‘autonomy’, it suggests that you are acting independently, without any outside influence. So, when a State Assembly makes laws for how a local government functions, that is clearly external influence”.
Fashola also referenced the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, which outlines the responsibilities of local governments, including the operation of slaughterhouses, cemeteries, primary education, healthcare, and road construction.
The former minister stated that many of the functions were land-dependent, yet land is controlled by state governments, further undermining the idea of autonomy. “Those responsibilities are all dependent on one item – land. To the extent that state governments control land, I don’t think that autonomy was intended. What I think was intended was some form of collaboration, supervision, or oversight by states over local governments”, he stated.
He pointed to Section 162 of the constitution, which provides for the State Joint Local Government Account, as a deliberate mechanism of financial oversight.
Reacting to the recent Supreme Court judgement on local government autonomy, Fashola acknowledged the concerns raised about local government mismanagement, but questioned whether the court had full context of the historical and legal complexities.
He said: “I have read the judgement and considered the reportage about happenings in some local governments. No patriot would deny that some form of actions were needed, as initiated by the Attorney-General.
“But the question then is: does the Supreme Court have the benefit of some of the history that I have referred to in the argument that was presented to them? And then, whether or not the Supreme Court appropriately deployed the tools at its disposal to remedy the ailment that had been presented to them”.
