Group Knocks Makinde over His Stance Against LG Autonomy, Says,”He’s Fraudulent, Undemocratic

Group Knocks Makinde over His Stance Against LG Autonomy, Says,”He’s Fraudulent, Undemocratic.

Insists GSM Killed LG Administration for 4-Years

A socio-economic group, Grassroots for Itesiwaju Ipinle Oyo, on Friday, has knocked the governor of Oyo state, Seyi Makinde for his inconsistent remarks on local government autonomy, just as the group condemned inability of the council chairmen to construct a kilometre of road in the last four years.

The group said despite that 0.6 trillion in excess accrued to local government areas in the last four years, no meaningful developments have been recorded in the last four years.

Grassroots for Itesiwaju Ipinle Oyo stated this in a statement signed by its Convener, Dr. Bello Razaq while reacting to the matters arising from the Wednesday 2023 Splash FM and Lagelu FM Governorship debate.

The group wondered why the governor conducted elections into the Local Government Areas when he does not believe in local government autonomy, adding that Makinde’s stance against local government autonomy rendered the local government administration redundant in the last four years.

According to the group, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) must beam its searchlights on Governor Makinde-led PDP government for misappropriation of the council funds.

The group commended the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Teslim Folarin for his consistent position on Local government autonomy, saying “His response on local government administration shows he understands the importance of local government in grassroots development.

Wondering why the governor was inconsistent in his responses on the issue of local government autonomy, the group said Makinde who promised to support LG Autonomy in 2019, after stolen local government fund for four years now said he would not support autonomy for local government.

Our correspondent recalled that when asked what his position was on the critical local government autonomy, governor Seyi Makinde’s disturbing remark was instructively telling.

“He sounded draconian and appeared hell-bent on maintaining his stand even when such is illegal. While the governor spoke his mind about his decision not to assent to the local government autonomy, some of his co-debaters chided him for intentionally killing local government administration.

“For the first time in a while, many people now understand the governor’s stance as far as the independence of the third tier of government is concerned. Unsurprisingly that under his watch, local governments at the grassroots level have been grounded, stifled, and strangulated. Checks on them now show each local government is poorer and, in most cases, has an iota of no idea what they were established to do.

“Up until now, the governor has not been invited to commission a project carried out by local government administration in the state. This is because their responsibilities have been usurped by the Governor. It is evident that what we know as local councils have now been systematically slaughtered; with their survival now tied to the apron string of the governor, under the guise of convoluted federal system.

“In a way, the decision to kill and bury local government administration was carefully calculated. The hapless people are the ones bearing the brunt.

“For the record, no governor in the history of the state has been so audacious in hijacking the constitutional roles and responsibilities of local government than Governor Makinde. Today, he is in charge of their funds. He approves their budgets. Sign off their projects and single-handedly determines the fate of the council bosses. He is truly the ‘Oga’ at the top whose cough send a shiver down the spines of his puppets. Just like other independent institutions, Makinde’s Omituntun 1.0 has successfully, surgically, and tactically ensured whatever that is left for local government politically or financially is either diverted, misappropriated, or abused.

“Little wonder, elected chairmen across the 33 local governments are like toothless bulldogs. They cannot even bark because that may anger the Emperor who installed and can send them packing without batting an eyelids. Unfortunately, council chairmen today only account to the governor while the governor accounts to nobody! It is such a shamelessly disgusting situation we have found ourselves as people of pace setter state. That the governor could openly and publicly said he does not believe in local government autonomy and will never assent to the bill only reveal his double standards.

“Engr. Makinde during the 2019 campaigns made it known that he was a member of a party that allows for the independence of local government. He was speaking because he needed people’s votes. Now he is in power, the story has changed. The people of Oyo State now know better that it is suicidal to re-elect Engr. Makinde because his second term would produce nothing but a muted developments in the grassroots. He is never going to change or put the interests of the downtrodden masses first. Under governor Makinde, nobody knows how much is allocated to local government or how federal allocations to the councils are spent. Folarin and other candidates vowed to restore the glory of local government and importantly the independence of the state house of assembly”.

The group concluded its statement by urging the Oyo State electorates to vote out a governor that does not have passion for grassroots development.