The Government of Katsina State has announced its rea diness to implement the decision of the Supreme Court on local government autonomy
The decision to implement the autonomy was revealed the Governor of Katsina State, Dr Dikko Umar Radda in statement signed and issued Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dikko Radda..
He reaffirmed the state’s commitment to upholding the country’s constitution at a stakeholders meeting to discuss the implications of the judgment on local government autonomy, in Abuja.
The statement quoted the governor to have said: “I did not call you all today to interpret the judgment. Katsina State is a law-abiding state and will operate under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I have asked the state attorney general to give me a full report on the legal implications of the Supreme Court’s decision.”
Radda empathized with the local government chairmen, stating “As you know, I was once the chairman of Charanchi Local Government during the administration of our beloved President Umaru Musa Yar’adua. I was involved in the day-to-day administration of my local government, and I am fully aware of the challenges and pains most of you are facing.”
To that effect he said, “We have already carried out party primaries in line with electoral best practices, and some current chairmen will return through a democratic process, Insha Allah. In this dispensation, we are most likely the only state to transition from one democratically elected local government council to another.”
On the potential challenges posed by the court judgment, particularly regarding financial management, personnel matters, and the state’s ongoing developmental projects, Radda noted that: “Between June 2023 and June 2024, the federal allocation to local governments in Katsina was about 130.1 billion. 66 billion was spent on salaries, 10.1 billion on pensions and gratuities, 12.13 billion on security, 376.6 million on security requests from some local governments, and 4 billion on direct running costs to local government councils.”
He then stressed the need for a comprehensive strategy to address the challenges posed by the judgment. According to him, “we must use the coming weeks to review all our existing laws and begin to work on new laws that will harmonise our developmental objectives.”
