google.com, pub-3998556743903564, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 Local Government Autonomy: Review Statutory Revenue Sharing Formula

Local Government Autonomy: Review Statutory Revenue Sharing Formula

 By Polycarp Onwubiko

An age long apophtegme had it that "You can fool some of the people some of the time but not all the people all the time" applies on all fours with contraption in the name of Federal Constitution which is really a "Federal-Unitary contraption referred to as the 1999 Constitution supposedly under Amendments ostensibly to pander to the inanities, preferences, venality and choices on how to pilot the corporate affairs of Nigeria on the tapestry of the proverbial "Russian Roulette" ; or better called "on the Stony Golgotha or a "Banana Republic ".

Nigeria before it secured Political Sovereignty from the British colonial masters in 1960, after series of Constitutional Conferences in and outside the shores of the country, settled for a FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT MADE UP OF TWO TIERS OF GOVERNMENT viz: (1) Federal Government, and (2) Regional Governments. Revenue Sharing Formula was between the Federal Government, and Regional Governments.

Although, Nigeria being a TRULY FEDERATION, practiced "Resource Control " whereby the respective Regional Governments explored and exploited the vast natural and mineral resources within their jurisdiction to create wealth, prosperity and massive employments for their people. A given percentage of the proceeds from the respective Regional Governments public funds was remitted to the Federal Government to enable it run joint services namely: Immigration, Foreign Affairs, Defense.

It is needless recounting what led to political crises that snowballed into Military coup d'etat, ETHNO-RELIGIOUS conflagration that triggered mindless slaughtering of people from the then Eastern Region that eventually led to the unfortunate and needles Nigeria-Biafra war.

The clearly stated and recorded fact was that the Military Regime did not destroy the Independence Constitution which was later renamed Republican Constitution; rather they SUSPENDED the truly Federal Constitution. Consequently, it was the general understanding by Nigerians that the military regime would be a temporary affair while they would put structures in place to return the country to the truly Federal arrangements with the Republican Constitution with TWO TIERS OF GOVERNMENT viz: (1) Federal Government and (2) Regional Governments .

Curiously, of course covertly prodded and teleguided by the "Northern Political Emirate Establishment and Fulani Feudal Oligarchy", the truly Federal Constitution (the Republican Constitution)was surprisingly dumped by the military autocrats who handpicked bootlickers and brazen-faced sycophants and cheerleaders of the military autocrats to craft a "Federal-Unitary" Constitution called "1999 Constitution" which was deliberately skewed to favour the preferences, venality and choices of the Cabal on how to turn Nigeria into an Islamic Theocracy or Caliphate irrespective of the feelings of other ethnic nationalities that came together before the Independence Constitution was made to suit everybody.

Needless to say that all the people of the four Regional Governments were very happy with the political arrangements as each had a measure of AUTONOMY and CONSTITUTION, explored and exploited the vast natural and mineral resources within their jurisdiction hence the term "Competitive Federalism".

It was the vaulting and vaunting ambition of the "Fulani Feudal Oligarchy" that laid the foundation of rigging of census figures and the general election of 1964. The population census which triggered worldwide condemnations was nullified. Similarly the 1964 general election was brazenly truncated and mindlessly falsified to the extent that it triggered uncontrollable violence in the Western Region where people were murdered in their thousands and property reduced to ashes, all in the name of the brazen-faced quest of the Northern People's Congress NPC to take control of the entire country to impose Islamic Theocracy at the expense and detriment of other ethnic nationalities.

This arrant madness compelled the Army to strike; the rest is history, as it were. To come down to "brass tacks", as the saying goes, Nigerian from the middle belt ethnic nationalities down south expected that the Republican Constitution which was SUSPENDED by the military jackboots should be REINVENTED with two tiers of government viz: The Federal Government, and The State Governments since  the Gen. Yakubu Gowon Military Regime threw away Regional Governments.

The critical question remains: Why not return the Republican Constitution with TWO TIERS of government and TWO levels of monthly Statutory Revenue Sharing Formula? Why should the Military Regime empaneled the so-called "Dasuki Local Government Reform (1976) which increased the tiers of government to THREE without sounding the opinions of people from the southern part of the country? Furthermore, why should the Military junta create surplus local government councils only in the northern part of the country while no local government council was created in the southern part of the country.

For instance, Kano state and Lagos state had twenty (20) local government councils but the Fulani Feudal Oligarchy teleguided Military jackboots created additional twenty (20) local government councils in Kano while Lagos state still retained twenty? Of course nobody would speak out or condemn the all-powerful Military junta. Zik was reported to have said that "it is only a mad that confronts a man with gun".

The teleguided Military had their way to have surplus local government councils in the northern and further more used the local government councils to carve out Federal Constituencies to the extent that during the civilian administration when National Assembly comes, the north will have majority members in both the Senate and House of Representatives at the expense and detriment of the members from the southern part of the country. Consequently, the deft strategy and manipulation is that voting on Bills, Motions and Resolutions in the upper and lower Chambers of the National Legislature will be in favour of the North.

Since the operation of the "Federal-Unitary" contraption referred to as 1999 Constitution supposedly under Amendments ostensibly to contain the venality, preferences and inanities of the supposed "Caliphate Colonialists, Northern Political Emirate Establishment and Fulani Feudal Oligarchy with THREE TIERS OF GOVERNMENT out of sync with Federations the world over even the Nigerian Republican Constitution with TWO TIERS OF GOVERNMENT AND TWO LEVELS OF REVENUE SHARING FORMULA, they don't want the Restructuring of the lopsided Federation because it would bring back TWO TIERS OF GOVERNMENT AND TWO LEVELS OF REVENUE SHARING FORMULA with the result that the quantum monthly payment to the surplus local government councils in the North will stop.

Restructuring the lopsided Federation, with two tiers of government and two levels of monthly Statutory Revenue sharing formula between the Federal Government and State governments, State Governors along with the House of Assembly will now RESTRUCTURE their "Local Administration, formerly known as"Divisional Administration Department DAD during the First Republic with the Republican Constitution (now no longer to be called "Local government council") , design the personnel structure, responsibilities, and funding design according to their respective revenue allocation and internally generated revenues.

In other words, like it was in the First Republic, the issue of LOCAL ADMINISTRATION should be the SOLE AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE GOVERNORS. This is what FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT is all about the world over and Nigeria CANNOT BE DIFFERENT. Time for brazen-faced exploitation by the "Northern Political Emirate Establishment, Fulani Feudal Oligarchy and Caliphate Colonialists" are over and ethnic nationalities in the Middle Belt down south should now be free from the iron grips of the Cabal that deluded themselves that Nigeria belongs to them alone while other ethnic nationalities would remain their slaves while the terrorists masquerading as herdsmen from the Sahel region of West Africa will be mindlessly slaughtering indigenous people and occupying their ancestral homelands while the survived ones would continue to die in droves in the IDP ramshackle while the Aso Rock Landlord would be clinking glasses of wine pretending that the fortunes of the IDP privations is a non-issue.

Polycarp Onwubiko JP, a veteran journalist, author and public policy analyst writes from Awka, Anambra State.

 

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