Former Director-General of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council, Doyin Okupe has condemned the Federal Government on its court case against states over local government autonomy.
Recall that the Federal Government had instituted a legal action against the governors of the 36 states of the federation at the Supreme Court over what it described as their interference in the administration of local councils in their respective states.
The suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, is seeking full autonomy for all local government areas in the country.
Reacting to the development during an interview with newsmen on Sunday, Okupe described the legal battle as needless and unfortunate.
He opined that in a federal system there are only two component units- the federal and the states.
Okupe insisted that the idea of the LG as the third tier should be removed from the constitution.
He asserted that LGs are issues of the state and has nothing to do with the federal government.
According to him, “We should run a true federal system in which there are two bodies coming together for a union: the Federal Government and sub-nationalities.
“The local governments are principally and completely issues of the state, it absolutely has nothing to do with the federal government and it (the idea of LG as a third tier)should be expunged from the constitution.
“Let the nation’s money be shared between the Federal government and the states. The Federal government asking for local government autonomy in a federal system is an aberration.
“It is becoming so sad that we seem not to know what is right and what is wrong in the country.
“Then, the state government can decide to have as many local governments as it desires for grassroots development and fund it as they like.”
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