The Oyo State governorship candidate of the Allied People’s Mandate (APM), Hon. Bimbo Adekanmbi, has described the campaign promise to grant full autonomy to the 33 local government areas in the state by his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Sharafadeen Alli, as a political gimmick to hoodwink the electorate for votes in the 2027 governorship election.
Adekanmbi, a technocrat with accounting expertise, said this on Saturday, when he appeared on a two-hour radio show on Fresh FM, Ibadan.
The APM’s governorship candidate and former Commissioner for Finance under the late Ex-Governor Abiola Ajimobi maintained that Alli’s promised financial autonomy was a mere political narrative for unsuspecting and naive citizens.
He added that the policy remained unrealistic despite the pronouncement of the Supreme Court without the legislative amendment to abolish the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC), which is also called the State Joint Local Government Account (SJLGA) as contained in Section 162(6) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.
The Supreme Court has in 2024 ruled that allocations should be paid directly to LGAs, not through JAAC.
However, its implementation is still being debated across the states, considering the constitutional hurdle posed by JAAC.
The APM’s governorship flagbearer attributed this constitutional loophole as the barrier inhibiting the implementation of full autonomy to the 774 local government areas across the country, including the APC-controlled states.
Adekanmbi wondered why the APC’s candidate, who claimed to be a lawyer and federal lawmaker, was unaware that unless the National Assembly removes the provision of the law that empowers JAAC, autonomy for LGA administration will continue to remain a mirage.
He challenged Alli to convince him about how he intends to implement his repeated promises to the electorate on granting such autonomy without legislative amendment.
“I challenge our elder brother, Oba Sharafadeen Alli, to call this programme in the course of this programme to explain how to grant autonomy to these local governments without legislative amendment. If he’s able to convince me, I will pull out and become his campaign director,” Adekanmbi said.
He assured that under him if elected as the Governor, he will ensure freedom for the local government by prioritising the welfare of teachers and primary health care among other priority mandates of the local governments.
Adekanmbi also assured that development projects will not be hindered in the LGAs while stressing that the state government will ensure prudent management of resources to prevent looting and diversion experienced in the past.
“Just as all eyes are on the governor to ensure accountability, we will also want to see that replicated where funds in the LGs are not diverted into crypto investment as seen in the past,” he stated.
The APM’s governorship candidate also pledged to distance himself from meddling in traditional institutions, assuring that he has spoken to some traditional rulers who have told him about their interest in maintaining peace and collaborating with his government on security, with significant interest in preserving their unique cultural heritages.
Senator Alli, at different political fora and through his campaign organisation, assured the people of Oyo State of his plan to grant autonomy to the 33 local governments if he is voted to become governor in 2027.
