Fashola: Local government autonomy unrealistic under current constitution

Former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has dismissed the idea of full autonomy for local governments under Nigeria’s current constitutional framework, describing it as “unrealistic” and inconsistent with the country’s legal and structural foundations.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Saturday, Fashola made it clear that, based on his in-depth interpretation of the 1999 Constitution, local governments were not designed to operate independently of state governments.

“As it stands today, it is unrealistic to expect autonomy for local governments created by the constitution. They were not meant to be autonomous. That is my view after a very, very close reading of certain provisions of the constitution,” he stated.

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Fashola, a former Minister of Works and Housing, explained that provisions in the Constitution explicitly place local government operations under the legal purview of state Houses of Assembly, which contradicts the fundamental notion of autonomy.

“Some of those provisions provide, for example, that local government in its economic activities and all of that will have laws made for it by the state house of assembly,” he said.

“If you look at the legal and ordinary meaning of the word autonomy, it suggests that you are acting independently without any outside influence and authority. To that extent, a state house of assembly making laws for what and how a local government can function is in itself an external influence that contradicts the idea of autonomy.”

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) further dissected the fourth schedule of the Constitution, which outlines the duties assigned to local governments—such as managing primary schools, cemeteries, roads, and abattoirs—arguing that these responsibilities are land-dependent. Given that land is under the control of state governments, he insisted that local government autonomy becomes practically infeasible.

“All of those responsibilities are dependent on one item, land. And to the extent that the state government controls land, which affects how the local governments will carry out these functions, I didn’t think that autonomy was intended,” Fashola remarked.

He added that while Nigeria can choose to amend the Constitution to enable true local government independence, such a move would require a comprehensive restructuring of the legal and administrative control currently held by the states.

“Now, if we now decide that we want autonomous local government, those are some of the things we have to free up if that is our decision. So we must have an agreement. But as it stands, I don’t think that autonomy was intended,” he emphasized.

Rather than full independence, Fashola believes the constitutional intent was for local governments to function in cooperation with, and under the oversight of, state governments.

“What I think was intended was some sort of collaboration, some sort of supervision, some sort of oversight of the state over the local government. And that is inherent in what you will find in section 162, which deals with the state’s joint local government account,” he explained.

He also provided historical context, pointing out that before the 1999 Constitution, local governments accessed funds directly from the federation account. However, widespread financial mismanagement prompted the introduction of the State Joint Local Government Account to enable closer supervision.

“Because up till 1999, the local governments used to collect their monies directly from the federation account under a process that I think was known as JAC, Joint Accounts and Education something,” Fashola said.

“But in the advent of the democratic era, it was found out that there were so many of them, or not a few of them, who had defaulted in the very basic obligation of paying staff salaries, primary health care workers, primary school teachers, salaries and pensions. And there was a backlog of debts.”H+

He noted that he inherited some of that financial burden upon becoming governor of Lagos State, further reinforcing the need for state-level oversight.

“And I met some of that debt when I became governor. And we were working then. And I think that is partly the history behind the creation of the state joint local government account to ensure that there was some supervision,” he recalled.

Concluding his remarks with a touch of candor, Fashola acknowledged that the system of supervision itself may have developed its own flaws over time.

“Whether the supervisors have now become as culpable as those they were supervising is another narrative entirely,” he added.

Fashola’s comments add a notable legal and historical perspective to the ongoing national discourse about local government reforms and restructuring, especially amid renewed calls for devolution of powers and grassroots development.