Confab Committee Calls for Scrapping of 774 local government areas

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines Monday, April 28th, 2014

The committee on Political restructuring and Forms of Government in the ongoing National conference on Monday in Abuja recommended the removal of the 774 Local Governments from the nation’s constitution.

The committee however suggested that they should be transferred to the states legislature as part of the move to introduce two tiers of government in the country.

The committee which continued its deliberations with focus on local government administration in the country specifically recommended that the list of LGs as contained in the First Schedule, Part 1 of the 1999 constitution should be removed and transferred to the states to be covered by a law of the state Houses of Assembly.

The committee premised its recommendation on the need to rejig the grassroots administration in the country.

The committee had after its deliberation on the issue last week recommended the removal of LGs as a third tier of government and gave express authority to the states executive to determine the number to operate in their states among others.

It had also insisted Nigeria would remain a federation with the existing 36 states structure as the units.

The Committee also adopted the recommendation that the functions of local governments as contained in schedule 4 of the 1999 constitution shall be transferred to the states subject to the power of the state Houses of Assembly to add or reduce from the list.

It reaffirmed section 7 of the 1999 constitution that the system of local governments by democratically elected local government council is guaranteed.