A non-governmental organisation, Peasants Empowerment Concern Initiative (PECi), has called on Nigerians to "wake up" and reclaim their local government areas allegedly hijacked by state governors, days before the first anniversary of the Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The statement was issued on Sunday by former Director General of the Voice of Nigeria and founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, on behalf of the organization.
"Our dear Compatriots, four days to the first anniversary of financial autonomy granted to Local Government Areas by the Supreme Court's landmark judgment of July 11, 2024, PECi is alarmed that our countrymen are sleeping over our right," Okechukwu stated.
Concerns Over Implementation of Supreme Court Ruling
According to the group, there has been "utter contempt" for the landmark judgment, with Nigerians failing to monitor the management of local government funds as mandated by the Supreme Court ruling.
PECi highlighted several consequences of this negligence, including Federal Capital Territory primary school pupils missing classes for months since early 2025, the Mokwa flood disaster, increasing insecurity at the local government level, and deteriorating rural roads.
The organization recalled that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who witnessed financial repression at the grassroots level as a former governor, had resorted to the Supreme Court to resolve the impasse caused by "planlessness and squandermania" that wasted revenues accrued from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) to LGCs over 25 years of Nigeria's Fourth Republic.
Local Governments as Foundation of Democracy
PECi emphasized that local government areas are the foundation of grassroots democracy, with financial autonomy serving as the key to expanding democratic frontiers and improving prosperity for residents in Nigeria's 8,809 wards, most of which are located in rural communities nationwide.
The group's call comes at a critical time when questions about governance effectiveness at the local level continue to dominate public discourse in Nigeria.
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