Attorney General of the Federation and minister for justice, Lateef Gagbemi, has called for the scrapping of the State Electoral Commissions to allow democracy take its roots in the local governments.
Fagbemi speaking at a one-day ‘Discourse said governors have latched on to the inadequacies and lacunas in some sections of the 1999 Constitution to undermine and render local governments redundant, accusing governors of exploiting the weaknesses of Section 7(1); Section 83(3); Section 7(5) and others to impose their will on the local governments in the country.
Fagbemi noted that the abuse of State/ local governments’ joint accounts by state governors has imposed a fiscal emasculation which has rendered the local governments poor as the governors hold on to their federal allocations.
He however called for a robust constitutional amendment that would remove all encumbrances hindering the development of local governments and their ability to fulfil their constitutionally recognized functions.
