Oshiomhole Advocates for Local Government Financial Autonomy

• Senator Adams Oshiomhole supports financial autonomy for local governments, emphasizing its importance for grassroots development.
• His comments followed the Supreme Court ruling granting financial independence to local government councils in July 2024.
• Oshiomhole stressed the importance of good governance, accountability, and local government chairmen’s role in community development.
• He humorously suggested that decentralization would spread resources more widely, potentially creating wealth across many communities rather than concentrating it.

Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North Senatorial District, has expressed strong support for the financial autonomy of local governments in Nigeria, asserting that decentralization is crucial for driving grassroots development. Speaking at a forum on local government autonomy organized by the House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Oshiomhole highlighted the importance of empowering local governments to manage resources effectively for the betterment of their communities.

His remarks came after the Supreme Court’s ruling on July 11, 2024, which affirmed the financial independence of local government councils in Nigeria. Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, emphasized that local government chairmen, due to their proximity to the people, play a pivotal role in driving development projects such as roads, hospitals, and other essential infrastructure.

In a lighthearted yet impactful statement, Oshiomhole remarked, “It’s better to have 774 local government chairmen who are thieves than one big thief,” suggesting that decentralization would enable more widespread distribution of resources. He argued that this approach would allow every local government to contribute to the creation of wealth within its community, instead of concentrating resources in the hands of a few.