December 02, (THEWILL) – Former Edo State Governor and Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has declared his support for granting financial autonomy to Nigeria’s 774 local governments, stating that decentralization would foster grassroots development.
Speaking at a forum on local government autonomy organized by the House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.
Oshiomhole said, “It’s better to have 774 local government chairmen who are thieves than one big thief.”
The senator’s remarks come in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court judgment delivered on July 11, 2024, by a seven-member panel led by Justice Garba Lawal, which directed that local governments be granted full financial autonomy.
Oshiomhole underscored the importance of decentralization, arguing that local governments are better positioned to understand and address the needs of their communities.
According to him, financial independence for local governments would enable them to take on critical development projects such as roads, hospitals, and essential infrastructure.
“Local government chairmen are closest to the people and understand the specific needs of their communities. By empowering them financially, we are distributing resources across the country rather than concentrating them in the hands of a few,” he said.
The former labour leader also suggested that granting financial autonomy could create opportunities for wealth generation at the grassroots level, stating that it would enable every local government to produce one or two billionaires, thereby spreading economic benefits across communities.
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