IN Nigeria, local governments, like anywhere in the world, were essentially created to bring governance and development to the grassroots, promote citizen participation in governance, enhance administrative efficiency, and ensure the effective delivery of essential services tailored to local needs.
The fourth schedule of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, stated the local government functions to include providing and maintaining essential local services like public transportation, waste disposal, and health services; managing local economic development through planning and collecting revenue from rates and fees; and maintaining local infrastructure such as roads, streets, and public spaces.
While the operational efficiency of some local governments in some states of the federation leaves much to be desired vis-à-vis their performance index as constitutionally enshrined, the same cannot be said of local governments in Delta State due to the harvest of people-oriented projects in most local government areas of the state.
Recently, at the commissioning of some projects in Obiaruku, Ukwuani Local Government Area of the state, including the inauguration of Ukwuani Mass Transit, the Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, represented at the ceremony by his Deputy, Sir Monday Onyeme, said that his administration was pleased with the achievements of local government chairmen across the state since they were inaugurated. According to him, local government chairmen have continued to execute laudable projects that were being commissioned across the state.
The governor’s position was also expressed at Burutu, Oshimili North, Ika South, and other local government areas where he commissioned projects in recent times. The projects include health centers, secretariat building, mass transit vehicles, and roads.
We join the governor in commending the authority of the local governments for making a bold statement on the infrastructural landscape of their areas, especially as they are expanding the frontiers of infrastructural development through their phenomenal contributions in their respective local government areas.
However, it is our view that the chairmen should show more commitment and efficient utilisation of local government resources for the welfare of the people at the grassroots, as anything short of this would grossly amount to mismanagement and be counterproductive. It will also undermine the confidence already reposed in them by the state government.
One way of doing this is by engaging in a needs assessment before approving any project. Needs assessment is vital as it will enable local governments to identify and execute projects tailored towards meeting the needs of the people. To achieve this, the chairmen should have the buy-in of councilors who are truly the representatives of the people at the lowest echelon of governance.
As Deltans continue to witness the harvest of multiple projects at the grassroots, it is instructive to state that conscious efforts must be made by the Works Departments in the various local governments to ensure that their contractors adhere strictly to the Basic Engineering Measurement and Evaluation (BEME) of projects awarded to them to guarantee the durability of such projects.
Besides, maintenance culture should be firmly embedded in our governance structure at the grassroots to guarantee prompt and effective maintenance of such projects to sustain their usefulness. More importantly is a need for communities to take ownership of projects in their domain by adequately protecting them from vandals in addition to holding the local government authority accountable.
In line with the governor’s directive on legacy projects, the chairmen should address education, healthcare, and environmental sanitation. While we note that education is in both the concurrent and residual lists of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we believe that local governments have the capacity to intervene through the provision of instructional materials, educational facilities, and scholarships.
We are also convinced that local governments can rejig their healthcare delivery architecture and squarely tackle the menace of poor sanitation with a view to promoting good health and environmental sustainability.
It is only when this is done that the people will truly get the value of money spent on such projects.
