A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Showunmi, has urged the Federal Government to take decisive action against state governors who are delaying the implementation of local government financial autonomy as mandated by the Supreme Court.

Speaking with journalists on Tuesday in Abeokuta, Showunmi described the governors as "clowns" who are deliberately obstructing the implementation of the Supreme Court's judgment on local government autonomy.

"I am not happy with the Federal Government of President Bola Tinubu on the essence that they have gone all the way to the Supreme Court to say that LGs should have their monies directly and full autonomy, and you are sitting down there and allowing some clowns calling themselves governors to be playing with that," Showunmi stated.

The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment delivered on July 11, 2024, by Justice Emmanuel Agim, ruled that all 774 local government councils in Nigeria should independently manage their own funds. The ruling was intended to strengthen local government independence and enhance accountability to their constituents.

Showunmi argued that implementing local government autonomy would significantly boost job creation across the country. "If you just bullied them into implementing that LG thing, do you know the amount of jobs you would generate in the country because the LGs will be so bolstered," he emphasized.

The PDP chieftain recalled how local governments operated during General Ibrahim Babangida's administration, noting that local governments collected their allocations directly from the Federal Ministry of Finance in their respective states rather than through state governments.

"In the days when General Babangida was here... the democracy of NRC and SDP, you know what they did? Local Government didn't collect their money through the state. They went to the Federal Ministry of Finance in the state and picked their LG cheques," he recalled.

Despite his criticism of the government's handling of local government autonomy, Showunmi commended the Tinubu administration for its "systematic thinking in solving challenges," acknowledging that they have performed well in the past two years.

The former presidential campaign spokesman for Atiku Abubakar also lamented that political office holders in Nigeria often lack the culture of doing the right things because they don't face consequences for their actions.