A coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) operating under the umbrella of the Save Nigerian Democracy Group (SNDG) has criticized Governor Charles Soludo’s stance on the recent Supreme Court judgment that granted full financial autonomy to the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Nigeria.
In a statement released to the press in Abuja, the coalition contended that contrary to Governor Soludo’s claims, allowing LGAs to receive their allocations directly from the federation account would promote grassroots development. The SNDG praised President Bola Tinubu for initiating this action, attributing the judgment to his “spirited attempts to navigate the country away from its current economic and financial quagmire.” They asserted that this development would foster “organic rural development that will drive the national development index.”
The coalition expressed concern over Governor Soludo’s ongoing criticism of the financial autonomy granted to LGAs, arguing that he should instead focus on addressing the escalating insecurity issues in Anambra State. They highlighted efforts by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, who established a new Directorate and appointed Lami Chinade as the Director of the newly created State Liaison Directorate within the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). This initiative aims to ensure that Local Government funds are not tampered with under any circumstances.
The SNDG lamented that, instead of confronting the insecurity challenges in Anambra, Governor Soludo has embarked on a misguided campaign against President Tinubu and the Supreme Court ruling regarding LG autonomy. They described it as “truly baffling” that Soludo seems to question the existence of the third tier of government, further expressing concern over his assertion that granting financial autonomy to the LGAs would lead to chaos.