Senate passes bill to grant Local Govts financial autonomy

Nigeria Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to grant financial and administrative autonomy to local governments in the country.

The proposed law seeks to amend the Constitution to repeal the state joint local government account and provide for a special account where all allocations due to the local governments’ councils, from the federation account and state government, shall be paid.

In the bill, each local government council is to create and maintain its own special account to be called Local Government Allocation Account into which all the allocations will be paid.

The legislations also mandate each state to pay to local government councils in its area of jurisdiction such proportion of its internally generated revenue on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly.

For administrative autonomy, the bill seeks to allow local governments to conduct their own elections.

The lawmakers also voted in favour of financial autonomy for State Houses of Assembly and judiciary.

About 73 senators voted in the process for about 68 proposed amendments to the Nigerian constitution.