By Peace Udugba
Former NULGE President urges Nigerians to demand implementation of Supreme Court ruling, says grassroots development remains crippled
Former National President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Akeem Ambali, has lamented the continued failure of local governments to deliver effective grassroots governance despite the Supreme Court judgment granting them financial autonomy.
Ambali said the inability to translate the landmark judgment into functional and independent local administration had continued to undermine service delivery, rural development and the impact of government policies across the country.
He spoke on Tuesday during an exclusive interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, where he examined the challenges confronting local government administration and the need for political commitment to grassroots development.
Describing local government as the neighbourhood level of administration, Ambali said it remained the closest tier of government to the people and should serve as the primary channel for delivering essential services to communities.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for pursuing local government autonomy, recalling that the issue formed part of the President’s political commitments before assuming office.
According to him, Tinubu adopted a different approach to achieving the objective and eventually secured a Supreme Court judgment affirming the financial autonomy of local governments.
He also acknowledged the creation of Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), saying the initiative was intended to bring governance and public services closer to the people.
However, Ambali expressed disappointment that the expected improvements had yet to become visible in many communities.
“Local government, which is the neighbourhood government, is supposed to service the grassroots and make the impact of the Tinubu administration more positive. But it is missing in action,” he said.
He insisted that the Supreme Court judgment must be implemented fully, warning that political interests should not be allowed to undermine the authority of the judiciary.
Ambali urged Nigerians to make local government autonomy a major consideration when assessing political parties and candidates ahead of the next general election.
He said voters should demand clear explanations from political aspirants on how they intended to ensure the effective implementation of the judgment and restore functional local administration.
According to him, local governments should be empowered to maintain rural roads, support agricultural production, provide basic infrastructure and strengthen security at the community level.
He lamented that deteriorating rural roads had made it difficult for farmers to transport their produce to markets, recalling that councils previously possessed graders, excavators and other equipment for maintaining community roads.
“The roads are not passable. Farmers cannot bring back farm produce. Local governments in the past had graders, boilers, excavators and so many other equipment that could easily serve communities,” he said.
On agricultural development, the former NULGE president called for reliable databases of farmers at the local government level to ensure that interventions such as tractors, fertilisers and other support reached genuine beneficiaries.
He also advocated the revival of community policing arrangements, arguing that councils should have the administrative capacity to address security concerns within their jurisdictions.
Ambali maintained that autonomy should go beyond the release of funds to include restoring the institutional capacity of councils to discharge their constitutional responsibilities.
He questioned why communities continued to experience inadequate infrastructure despite the increasing financial allocations reportedly accruing to local governments.
“A local government that has about N200 million, for God’s sake, no matter how drunk that chairman can be, he will still impact his people positively. But what is wrong with Nigeria is a local government that is missing in action,” he said.
Addressing concerns about the performance of local government employees, Ambali argued that workers should not be judged without considering the resources, equipment and institutional support available to them.
He said the application of performance indicators in public administration must take account of the working conditions of employees and the facilities provided by their management.
Using Eagle 102.5 FM as an example, he explained that workers could hardly deliver effectively if management failed to provide essential operational requirements such as electricity, fuel and adequate funding.
He also dismissed the assumption that local government employees who were not found in their offices were necessarily absent from duty.
Recalling his experience as a former director of community development, Ambali said his responsibilities frequently took him to rural communities, including Iloti, Irawo, Obete, Abule Sikiru and Alabata.
He explained that agricultural officers, community development personnel and other council employees were expected to work directly with residents, making field assignments an important aspect of grassroots administration.
The former labour leader recalled that local government administration was more active during the Babangida era, when councils enjoyed greater independence and their activities were more visible in communities.
He, however, alleged that deliberate political interference over the years had weakened the third tier of government and reduced its capacity to deliver services.
He further argued that government interventions at the federal and state levels would have limited impact without functional local government structures to connect such programmes to intended beneficiaries.
Citing the distribution of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, he said effective local administration would ensure that such interventions translated into visible benefits for communities.
“Tinubu has a good vision for the country. He has a good programme. But how to connect the people is missing. And that is a function of local government,” he said.
Ambali expressed sympathy for Tinubu over the challenges surrounding local government autonomy, saying the President should be held accountable for completing the process he had initiated.
“As of today, because of local government autonomy, I have sympathy for Tinubu. That is the truth. I am a comrade, I don’t lie. Because I believe, if miraculously, he wins the election, he will be held accountable for what he has started,” he said.
He nevertheless stressed that the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment should not depend on electoral calculations or political bargaining.
The former NULGE president maintained that meaningful national development would remain difficult without independent, accountable and people-centred local governments.
He said the success of local government autonomy should ultimately be measured by improved rural roads, functioning public facilities, agricultural support, stronger community security and accessible public services rather than political declarations or the existence of a court judgment alone.
