The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it is examining the different objections to the ruling by the Supreme Court that gave the nation’s Local Governments (LGs) budgetary autonomy.
This was said by Debo Ologunagba, the PDP’s national publicity secretary, at a press conference held in Abuja on Sunday.
In response to enquiries regarding the party’s stance on the ruling of the Supreme Court in light of remarks made by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, Ologunagba said.
According to Makinde, the Supreme Court’s ruling left a constitutional gap that will give rise to several challenges at the LG level.
Although he was in favour of council transparency, he stated that the ruling was not a “silver bullet” that would solve all of Nigeria’s issues.
“The law is the law and when there is a conflict, yes, we should go to the court.
“But it behooves on us to look for our own homegrown solutions that can ensure that we have transparency and that our people do not suffer.
“This is because when two elephants are fighting it is the grass that will suffer,” Makinde had said.
According to Ologunagba, the party’s position was that the LGs were closer to the people and had ties to the state.
He stated that the PDP was closely examining different stances about the ruling from the Supreme Court.
“The fact that the Federal Government is trying to create another bureaucracy that would be corrupt or deviant in local government control, we think that would be another recipe for trouble.
“We believe that if there are reforms to be made on the local government, it should be done in conjunction with the governors, not by the fiat of the Federal Government.
“When it comes to the court, I am a lawyer, and I believe that this will not be the end of the matter,” he said.
Ologunagba stated that the LGs and state governments could not be kept apart and that, in the end, the governors would be responsible for managing them.
Regarding worries regarding shared accounts for local governments, Ologunagba stated that they were stipulated in the constitution.
“Again, these are issues that as a party, we are going to have more conversations with our governors,” he said.
Regarding the Rivers LGs crisis, Ologunagba maintained that the elected local government officers’ terms had come to an end.
He continued by saying that maintaining the state’s calm was in the federal government’s best interest.
