By Austin Ogwuda
SPEAKER of the Delta State House of Assembly, who doubles as the National Treasurer, Conference of Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Dennis Guwor has described the recent suit filed by the Federal government against Governors of the 36 States of the Federation as an aberration.
Although, he said that Delta State government was never opposed to the issue of autonomy to the Local Government Councils as it has even gone ahead to pass it, Guwor advised that what the Federal government should do is to lobby and not through litigation.
Recall that the Federal government recently filed a suit at the Supreme Court against Governors of the 36 States of the Federation in suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, whereby is seeking full autonomy for the country’s 774 local governments.
The Speaker stated this at a press conference flagging off of the celebration of the First Anniversary of the 8th Assembly held at the Legislative Quarters, Tuesday, instead of the usual Press Centre at the Assembly complex due to the ongoing strike action by the Assembly workers.
Fielding questions from newsmen, Speaker Guwor said, “on the question whether we (Conference of Speakers) had met over the matter, I want to say that we had our executive meeting just few days before that (Suit) came up and we have not been able to fix another round of meeting.
“For us in Delta we are very much ready for local government autonomy. I want to say that what the AGF (Attorney General of the Federation) has done is an aberration; aberration in the sense that is unconstitutional for a federal government to deduct from source what belongs to the local government.
“In the last dispensation, the 7th Assembly here in Delta concurred to local government autonomy that was passed at the federal level.
Unfortunately some States did not agree to pass it. It was only 16 States actually concurred to it that simply means it falls short of the 24 States needed out of the 36 States, so it didn’t see the light of the day.
“My advise is this: there is ongoing Constitutional amendment, the federal government should wait for the Constitutional amendment; lobby because lawmaking has to do with lobbying to see that we have 24 States for the autonomous to sail through across board”, said Guwor.
Photo caption: a cross section of Journalists at the press conference