There is hunger, the Supreme Court’s decision on LG autonomy is a distraction, says Makinde.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State believes the Supreme Court decision extending financial autonomy to local government councils is a distraction from Nigeria’s “real” challenges, such as the high cost of food.
In its Thursday decision, the Supreme Court directed the Federal Government to disburse monies directly to local council area accounts.
It also described state governors’ retention of local government funding as unconstitutional.
I am grateful to the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), led by Chief Dr. Chris Isiguzo, National President and President of the African Congress of Journalists, for naming me Grand Patron of the NUJ. I thanked them for their courtesy visit yesterday. pic.twitter.com/BcsIBZjgIv
Seyi Makinde (@seyiamakinde), July 12, 2024
However, in a video clip, the governor of Oyo State urged Nigerians to focus on combating hunger in the country.
“So, according to the Supreme Court’s judgement, there is local government autonomy, financial autonomy, and all of that, but I still believe it’s just a distraction,” Makinde tweeted on Friday. We must confront the genuine difficulties that we face,” Makinde said in a Friday video clip while addressing the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), led by National President Chris Isiguzo, who had appointed him Grand Patron of the NUJ.
“The problem we are facing is that we are not producing enough.” We are not productive. Whatever we are communicating in Abuja, which is the purpose of this FACC, please share it with the local government. Is this our problem?
Perhaps it’s a contributing aspect, but we definitely want value in the shared information. But the true issue is productivity. two this will be the topic of conversation for the next month or two, while the subject of hunger and fury in the nation remains under the table. It’s a major concern.
The federal government now recommends that we import food. It’s a real shame. Yes, it’s a great shame for our country. We cannot feed ourselves. They argue that we should revert to activities that will restore our people’s confidence and put our country back on track for growth and progress.