The project manager of Social Development Integrated Centre (SDIC), Prince Edegbuo has said that the capacity development of civil society organisations (CSOs); is to build community leaders’ strength to engage citizens for service delivery to the people.
According to him, the citizens are weakened by their concerns to engage the local government’s 774 chairmen. Edegbuo disclosed this Tuesday, while declaring the capacity development workshop open on the need for community development and service delivery in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital. He said the workshop is to equip, strengthen and support participants with strategies and skills for citizens’ engagement and interventions in service delivery. “The citizens are concerned about why the state governors still control and manage councils’ resources,” he lamented, adding that development at the council level is paramount in a democratic elected government.
He said with the local government autonomy, it will enable citizens in communities to track their representatives to ensure that the right thing is done. “Local Government in Nigeria is being operated as a business venture and not like a democratically elected government,” he lamented. Edegbuo added that the local governments have some kind of defense for state governors tie their aprons of carrying out their functions and duties. According to him, the CSOs are carrying out the campaign for local government autonomy. He noted that with the autonomy of 774 councils they will be independent of both the federal and state governments.
“The councils can have their funds directly to them without the joint accounts with states anymore,” he said, stating that there would be transparency and effective service delivery to the people at the grassroots. On challenges of autonomy, he said: “Our expected main challenges are a push from the State Governors Forum that will members understand that the citizens come first,” noting that it is a project that everybody should be encouraged by giving their support to ensure development in communities. The programmed coordinator, Botti Isaac also said that the state governments deprived the councils of needed resources to implement development projects. He said that the council chairmen and councilors are appointed and not elected by the Governors. He lamented that it makes it difficult for the citizens to identify, engage and relate with the chairmen. According to him, the autonomy of the local governments will overcome the challenges in government administration.
