Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has said that the much talked about autonomy for local governments in the country may not succeed if there is no financial discipline at the third-tier of governance.
Governor Sule stated this while flagging-off a three-day training workshop for 100 directors of personnel management, planning, research and statistics, as well as directors of socials from the 13 local government areas and 18 development areas of Nasarawa State at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies Kuru (NIPSS) on Wednesday.
According to the Governor, full financial autonomy for the local governments in the country is coming with mixed feelings because of the misconception in some quarters that autonomy for the councils means people will take funds belonging to the local government and just do whatever they want to do with it.
He said if some people are accusing the governors for misappropriating local government funds, what stops the local government chairmen from doing same since they also are Nigerians.
Governor Sule added that explained why his administration decided to send the participants on a training at the NIPSS in order for them to apply the knowledge garnered towards inculcating financial discipline at the local government level.
“The idea is for you to learn from here, and to apply that knowledge when you come back. Local government chairmen can not do something wrong without some of you. If you people don’t agree for local government chairman to do whatever, he can’t do it,” he said.
While restating that since July 2019, his administration has granted full autonomy to the 13 local government areas in the state, the Governor emphasized the need for the participants to seek to remain above board and to ensure due diligence in carrying out their responsibilities.
“For me, all these money received by the local governments, I have not seen any money, even one naira. If I want to do something wrong as a Governor I will go through the Commissioner of Finance, I will go through the Accountant General, I must go through them. That is the reason why I won’t do something wrong by the grace of God.
“The idea is that those accountants, those commissioners that are here, if you don’t accept, they will not do what is wrong. You must guide them. They will come as chairmen and politicians they will go. You are there. You will retire there,” he added.
He said with the World Bank disclosure that the solid minerals sector in Nigeria is worth over $700bn, Nasarawa State has no reason to be poor, especially that the state has tremendous potential in solid minerals.
“Nasarawa State has one of the greatest prospects. Nasarawa State should be one of the richest states in Nigeria. We have started looking at the solid minerals. All of you are witnesses that today, I hardly visit some of the ambassadors of these foreign countries, especially China. Instead, they come to Lafia to see me with all the investors. Every day you see me receiving one group of investors or the the other. Today I have visitations that will be paid not by Nasarawa State but by the investors. Go to India, go to China. All my trips were paid by investors and not by Nasarawa State. It’s because we have the potentials, we have the prospects to be there,” he added.
He said his administration takes human capital development seriously, urging the participants to endeavour to step down their knowledge when they returned to base.
“Because some people have misunderstood the meaning of autonomy to mean taking people’s money and doing whatever you want to do with it. That is why I said it’s coming with mixed feelings. If you know what we went through to get the current chairmen disciplined enough to agree that they must be having some savings, it took a lot of efforts. If we are no longer have the authority to convince them to do some savings, I am afraid the local government may not thrive,” he stated.
Earlier, Governor Sule commissioned the Nasarawa House, a building donated by the state government as parts of its contributions to the growth and development of the national institute.
In his remarks, Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies Kuru, Professor Ayo Omotayo, commended Governor Sule for sponsoring the participants, the largest contingent so far.
The Director General said it’s takes someone with strategic insight to understand why capacity development is important in the running of states, stressing that there is something that Governor Sule is seeing that other governors are not seeing.
He further commended the Governor for being among the few governors that is seeing the importance of capacity building especially at the local government level.
Prof. Omotayo charged the participants to be focused and to use the opportunity to learn.
“We open our doors to those that we believe can benefit from what we have to offer. When you come to NIPSS it is not a joke. You are not allowed to be late for any engagement. You are expected to meet datelines and we expect you to forget that you are a big man. We have a lot of respect for you but if you must learn, then it requires a lot of discipline, a lot of focus and you must be intentional about why you are here,” he said.
In his opening remarks, Barrister Mohammed Sani Bawa, Chairman of the Nasarawa State Local Government Service Commission, disclosed that the participants numbering 100 are directors of personnel management, directors of planning, research and statistics, as well as directors of socials from the 13 local government areas and 18 development areas of the state.
Barrister Bawa said the topic for the training workshop, “Policy and Strategy in Governance and Poverty Alleviation” was intended intended to expose the participants to modern approach to policy formulation towards solving the complex challenges associated with governance in the society.
He added further that the topic was also intended to prepare technocrats in the local government well ahead of what is required of them to manage the local government, especially with the local government autonomy.
The NLGSC chairman however noted that it must be understood by the participants that local government autonomy does not mean complete detachment of the local government from the state, but a clarion call for the local government to be awake and take charge of their responsibilities.
He therefore called on the participants to ensure that policies being implemented at the local government are in line with the agenda and policy directives of the state government.
Barrister Bawa used the opportunity to show appreciation to Governor Sule for sponsoring the training one hundred percent as his commission lacks the funds to undertake the project.