By Francis Ewherido
Chapter 1. Part 2. Section 7. Local Government System of the Nigerian Constitution clearly states the functions and roles of local government areas (LGAs) in Nigeria, so the topic, Wetin LGAs dey do sef (what do LGAs actually do) is somewhat ironic because it is obvious. But the impact of local governments in Nigeria has always been minimal or zero in most cases. My friend, who did his National Youth Service in a northern state in the 80s, said when the monthly allocation came, the LGA chairman would order food and they would all sit on a rug and eat together. Thereafter, envelopes containing money were shared to all of them, the LGA staff were paid and they dispersed until the next month when a fresh allocation arrived. The story of another youth corps member who served in one of the states in the now South-South was similar. The only difference was that they did not gather together with the chairman to feast, but money was shared and they dispersed.
Apart from a few local government chairmen who performed creditably during their tenures, non-performance was and it’s the norm in LGAs across Nigeria. At resumption of office, many LGA chairmen were simple and ordinary Nigerians. By the time they left office three or six years later, they lived in “country homes,” drove SUVs, owned petrol stations or hotels, etc. As for what they did for the people while in office, there is little to show for their tenures. The wretched projects they did cannot be equated with the amount they received from the federation account while in power. I am excluding internally generated revenues (IGR) because not much comes in IGR, especially in war-ravaged LGAs in the north and mainly rural LGAs like Ughelli South, where I come from.
But since the removal of fuel subsidy, the allocation to local governments has grown astronomically. Some LGAs now get over N1b every month. That is a huge sum of money that can make a lot of difference in an LGA. To sweeten things up, in July 2024, the Nigerian Supreme Court affirmed LGAs financial autonomy that has been stalled due to some greedy and recalcitrant state governors. They allegedly held on to LGAs allocations and gave them just enough to them to function minimally. After paying salaries, the chairmen allegedly shared the balance with the political godfathers of their LGAs.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has consistently said that we should hold our LGAs accountable. The Supreme Court and federal government have done their job as far as I am concerned for FAC allocations. It is now up to constituents. Waiting for the federal government to take action is like a young man the parents got a wife for. Do you want your parents to tell you that a wife is not a piece of furniture or you want your father to lend you his penis to impregnate or titillate your wife? You will wait for eternity.
I have been following the activities of Ughelli South LGA. As I explained two weeks ago, Ewu (Eghwu) Kingdom is where my father comes from, while my mother is from Effurun-Otor Kingdom. My paternal grandmother (Okpare) and two of my paternal great grandmothers are from Umolo and Oviri-Olomu, while my maternal great grandmother is from Oguname all in Olomu Kingdom. It’s only Ughievwen Kingdom I am unable to trace my ancestry to, but three over four makes me a critical constituent of and stakeholder in Ughelli South LGA. But today, I want to focus mainly on Ewu Kingdom.
Recently, we heard the news that the Chairman of Ughelli South LGA, Dr. Lucky Avweromre, released N200m to the councillors for constituency projects. For those who do not know, the chairman’s name, Avweromre means “lets, see it.” In line with the chairman’s name, I am requesting that: first, we want to know the constituency projects to be executed by the councillors in the four kingdoms in Ughelli South LGA, the cost and completion date so that constituents can keep track. I do not live in Ughelli South, so constituents who live there should ensure that the projects these councillors execute projects that stand the test of time. We do not want hollow rituals, for example, water from the taps of boreholes that stop running after the commissioning ceremony.
I am happy that the chairman specifically said the N200m is for constituency projects. In Urhobo, some people are called, Emuodese, which means let’s give him/her/it a name. The name of this N200m is “constituency projects.” The councillors should not use the money to buy cars, build houses or marry wives. The money should also not be used for political patronage. Please execute constituency projects that will have positive impact in the lives of the constituents: they include small projects related to primary healthcare, primary schools, provision of portable water for communities, provision of solar lights and any other project that will have direct impact on the lives of the people. I am tempted to add empowerment because governance is about the people, but it will be abused.
I do not have problems if the LGAs give the councillors loans to build houses (bungalows) in their villages or places of choice. After all, Nigeria has a housing deficit. If the constituents have no problems with it, neither do I. Federal and state legislators get new SUVs worth over a N100m each. I consider it insensitive because of the humongous sum and the pervasive hardship in Nigeria. But some LGA chairmen also drive brand new SUVs, so if a reasonable loan is given to the councillors to buy functional used saloon cars, I won’t raise an eyebrow. But in all situations, emuodese for every expenditure. There should be some transparency because miscellaneous must dey our matter, unfortunately.
I was shocked but not surprised by the revelation that despite collectively receiving an estimated N10.466 trillion in federal allocations from 2023 to 2025, putting the yearly windfalls at over N3 trillion, only seven LGAs out of the 774 LGAs in Nigeria have functional websites. Don’t worry, I won’t ask if Ughelli South is among the seven. After all, we are a rural LGA. I won’t even ask if any LGA in Delta is among the seven. But let me just remind LGAs that even organisations with less than N10m in annual turnover have functional websites. Some big organisations will instantly blacklist or refuse to have dealings with you if your organization/company has no active website. Enough said.
Finally, to Ewu councillors: Hon Philip Okpako Akpos (Ewu Ward 1: Ewu-Otor), Hon Joy Akoyere (Ewu Ward 2: Assah, Etefe, Olodiama Edjekwo and Orere communities), Hon. Andrew Eti Esemor (Ewu Ward 3: Gbaregolor, Osusurhie, Onyan communities), Hon. Evuarherhe Prosper (Ewu Ward 4: Olota, Okparabe, Arhavwarien, Ighwreokpe, etc), Hon. Metayire Makoko (Ewu Ward 5: Omosuomo Inland, Omosuomo water side and Ofrukama communities), Hon. Austine Young (Ewu Ward 6: Okuama, Ogoda and Alagbabiri communities). Your names are prefixed Hon, meaning someone “deserving of respect or high regard: deserving of honour.” You gave yourselves the title, nor be me. Interested Ewu constituents are monitoring you. We shall publish your performance in national and regional newspapers as we are doing now. Don’t let us down. Also, Hon. Austine Young, please site one constituency project in the ravaged Okuama Community. To the leaders and people of Ewu, ekpokpi contractors na (let the contractors work without let or hindrance, or monetary demands).
NB: Our Senator, Okakuro Ede Dafinone, read this column two weeks ago. He sent me a text that he would put something in the 2026 budget for Ewu, especially Okuama. I thought Ewu people should know.
