A chief lecturer at the Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua, Udeme Nana, has urged the National Assembly to amend or expunge Section 3, subsection 6 of the 1999 Constitution to allow the creation of more local government areas by states for equitable spread of development to more rural communities.
He noted that the current provision specifies the number of local government councils in Nigeria and does not liberalise the creation of councils.
This was part of the recommendations in his keynote address delivered during the 2025 Annual Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)/NGOs Conference in Uyo, which was organized by the Centre for Human Rights and Accountability Network (CHRAN). The theme of this year’s conference was: “State of Local Government Administration in Nigeria, Using Akwa Ibom State as a Case Study.”
Nana also called for the review of Section 197 (1) of the Constitution, which provides for states to fund State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIEC), whose only responsibility is to conduct elections into local governments. He argued that such provision is in dissonance with the Supreme Court judgment of July 11, 2024, which ruled that funds be paid directly to local government councils, querying how the states should fund SIEC.
He said local government should not be treated as a federating unit; rather, the tenure of local government councils should be extended to four years and renewable for a second and final tenure to align with the constitutionally prescribed tenure of all democratically elected political office holders in Nigeria.
“I urge the National Assembly to amend Section 3, subsection 6 of the 1999 Constitution, which specifies the number of Local Government Councils in Nigeria by removing that section completely in order to liberalise the creation of more development areas and centres by states. This would enable development to become more evenly spread to more rural communities,” he said.
On the dearth of tourist centres in Akwa Ibom, the keynote speaker called on the state government and Ikot Ekpene Local Government Council, as the first ever formally created local government council in British West Africa, to collaborate to set up a Museum of Local Government Administration in Ikot Ekpene.
“It is also possible for a nearby tertiary institution like the Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic located in Ikot Ekpene to establish a Department of Local Government Studies to train manpower in local government administration,” he added.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, Emmanuel Enoidem (SAN), who harped on the need for local government autonomy, regretted that the local government system was not well protected in the 1999 Constitution. He called for the review of some provisions in the Constitution to accommodate more responsibilities for the local governments.
Earlier in his welcome address, the State Director of CHRAN, Otuekong Franklyn Isong, highlighted the organisation’s role in promoting public accountability, civic engagement, as well as providing platforms for citizens to voice their concerns.
He said governance may suffer as election year draws closer, noting that political office holders would tend to focus more on politics and less on governance. He, therefore, called on other civil society organisations in the state to collaborate to safeguard governance and protect the interest of the people by serving as watchdogs.
While commending the Governor of Akwa Ibom, Pastor Umo Eno, for the release of all funds allocated to the 31 Local Government Councils of the state from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in compliance with the Supreme Court judgment, Isong regretted that the performance of council officers has been abysmally poor.
“We note with dismay that Akwa Ibom State seems to be unlucky when it comes to local government administration. The 31 Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State under the present administration of Pastor Umo Eno have become 31 poverty-brewing centers, which is a crying shame in the face of the huge monthly federal allocations to the 31 local governments. We note, sadly, that since the inception of the current council chairmen, the majority of them do not appear to know their functions as vested in them by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and that is anathema to good governance. The local government chairmen have failed to provide the needed grassroots governance and development to the people, and this could be traceable to the recruitment process that brought them into office,” he noted.
He, however, called on the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to urgently carry out its legislative oversight responsibility on the 31 Local Government Councils in order to rescue grassroots governance from amnesia and further deterioration.
Autonomy: NASS urged to review 1999 constitution for creation of more LG councils