A few weeks after the Supreme Court granted financial autonomy to the local government in Nigeria, traditional rulers are requesting a five per cent cut from the allocation.
Speaking when some traditional rulers from Nasarawa State, led by His Royal Highness Abdullahi Amegwa, the Osana of Keana, paid a courtesy call on the chairman of Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mohamed Bello Shehu, in Abuja, the traditional rulers demanded their own share from the national cake.
According to a statement, Dr. Samson Gamu Yare, the Chunmada of Akwanga who spoke on behalf of the leader of the delegation, disclosed that the interface with the commission emanated from the deliberation of the Council of Chiefs in Nasarawa State, which was endorsed by the State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule.
He explained that they were at the Commission to request that 5 percent of the allocation to local governments, which is constitutionally approved for traditional councils, be deducted from source and allocated directly to the respective traditional rulers to ensure proper accountability and compliance.
“Even with the improvement in statutory allocation, the 5 per cent allocated to traditional councils has continued to experience decline and that for us is a serious concern,” he said.
“This called for the interface and pleading from the traditional council for the Commission to consider deducting the 5 per cent charge from source and disbursing it to the traditional councils. Past experiences show that the modus operandi of deductions where any kind of formula is applied with regard to the implementation strategy is unacceptable.”
He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the resilience and courage to identify with the grassroots to ensure that the third tier of government is given its rightful place of pride following the Supreme Court’s ruling, which granted financial autonomy to local governments as provided in the constitution of Nigeria.
The traditional ruler also congratulated the chairman of the Commission and the members for being found worthy to serve the country in that capacity.
Also, some members and directors of the Commission emphasised the need for a policy on the deduction and allocation of the 5 per cent entitlement to the traditional councils.
In his remarks, RMAFC’s Chairman Shehu described the traditional rulers as not only the custodians of tradition and culture but pillars of stability and development in Nigeria.
“Prior to the colonial era, the system of government that existed in Nigeria was controlled by the traditional rulers in our various societies. The remarkable role they played not only as custodians of culture and traditions but also as development agents in various societies that formed what is known as Nigeria today cannot be overemphasised,” he said
Consequently, the chairman stressed the need to recognise the rightful position of the royal fathers and accord them a better role that will enable them to perform optimally.
“We did not get things right with the Local Government (LG) reforms of 1976 and we did not get it right with the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) but I only hope and pray that the present attempt at reforming the constitution will place a bigger role on the traditional rulers and be able to also find a way not only to fund it but to sustain it so that they will be able to hold the society together as they have done over the years,”Shehu, noted.
It would be recalled that in August this year, the Supreme Court gave a ruling granting financial autonomy to the 774 local government areas in Nigeria.
The apex court upheld the suit filed by Lateef Fagbemi, the Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice in May this year, in the federal government’s seeming bid to strengthen the independence of local governments in the country.
