Dogara: Appointment of Caretaker Committees for Local Governments is Illegal

By Laleye Dipo in Minna

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has declared that the appointment of caretaker committees to run local governments in the country “is unconstitutional and illegal.”

Dogara stated this in Minna at the weekend in a message he sent to the presentation of the book: ‘Understanding the local government legislature’ written by a former Agaie Local Government councillor in Niger State, Alhaji Aliyu Abdulmalik.

The Speaker therefore said there was no going back on the plan by the national assembly to grant autonomy to the local governments in the country in order to make the administrations more virile and effective.

Represented by a member of the House from Bauchi State, Alhaji Mohammed Sanni Abdul, Dogara said the National Assembly would ensure the amendment of the local government laws especially the joint account “ to ensure the effective and efficient functioning of the third tier of government.”

He emphasised the importance of the local government administration that had majority of the citizens at the grassroot level saying they deserved the required developmental projects which was lacking due to the states and local government joint account system. 

 “There is no going back on the constitutional amendment, we dey kampe”  Dogara said adding that: “the rural dwellers should be able to elect better and responsible people as their representatives at this level”.

The author of the book, Abdulmalik In his address lamented the level of ignorance about the: “workings, roles and importance of the councillors at the local government levels.”

The book reviewer and  former  Majority Leader of the House  Mr. Tunde Akogun, applauded the author “for a job well done” but said the author  identified the major challenges facing the local governments in Nigeria but did not proffer solutions to them”

Several copies of the book were purchased at nearly N3m by dignitaries that graced the presentation.

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