Niger Jettisons New Councils
Sends bill to assembly
From Jide Orintunsin in Minna
Niger State government may have bowed to the pressure from the Presidency over the additional 17 local government areas the former created in 2001, as the state governor, Engineer Abdulkadir Kure, has sent a bill to the state House of Assembly for the restructuring of the new councils.
The state governor in a radio and television broadcast to the people of the state in Minna yesterday, said that his administration has agreed with the Federal Government to lay before the state Assembly a bill to restructure the 17 additional councils created in 2001.
Niger State along with Lagos, Katsina and Nasar-rawa have since April been denied the statutory local government allocation due to allegation by the Federal Government that the newly created councils lacked constitutional backing.
President Olusegun Obasanjo at various fora vowed not to release the withheld allocations to the affected states, until such councils were dissolved. An action which led to both political and legal actions by the affected states for the resolution of the Federal Government action.
In the 7-page address, the governor noted that the decision of the Federal Government have made many people to suffer unpleasant and worrisome deprivations. According to Kure, traditional rulers, primary school teachers, local government employees and pensioners were not paid their salaries for the three months.
Moved by the plight of the people, the governor explained that the government filed an action at the Supreme Court for the resolution of the face-off, while the option of negotiations were also pursued with vigour.
He told his people that his administration drew the attention of the Federal Govern-ment to the plight of the people and urged expedited resolution of the matter, "we also urged the president to resolve the matter in our favour."
Kure who expressed appreciation for the concern shown by the President on the plight of the affected people, the Governor also commended Obasanjo, whose understanding contributed to the resolution of the issue.
Though, the Governor did not disclose whether Federal Government has released the withheld three-month local government allocation, THISDAY, however gathered that the state may have received the allocation since last week.
Kure, who insisted that the collective action in creating additional councils was preserved, protected and defended by the constitution, he however, said that the resolution of the face-off required some sacrifices.
He noted that the sacrifices may be difficult to be understood by many, but added that such decisions were necessary, saying, "at the end of the day, the collective decision we took to create additional local government councils will prevail, Insha Allah."
He further said, "as a people of honour and promise, we have to meet up to our obligations," hence "we have agreed with the Federal Government to lay before the state house of assembly a bill to restructure the 17 additional local government councils in 2001."
Federal Government had accused Lagos, Niger, Katsina, Nasarrawa and Ebonyi states of creating new councils without input of the National Assembly, hence the president ordered the withholding of the local government allocations of the affected states.
THISDAY, however, gathered that a political solution was reached between the Federal Government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) controlled states of Katsina, Nasarrawa and Niger states on the face-off, which led to the release of there withheld allocations.
Ebonyi State has also redesignated as development centres its earlier created council areas as part of step to achieve an amicable resolution of withheld council allocation funds with the Federal Government.
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