Youths under the aegis of the Nigeria Youths For Atiku (NYFA), a support group for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed the recent Supreme Court ruling on Local Government autonomy as a mere distraction from the pressing issues facing the country.
According to the group’s Director of Publicity, Mr. Dare Dada, the ruling is a politically motivated move by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government to seek a mandate in 2027.
Dada noted that the judgment has received mixed reactions, but Nigerians will still reject APC at the polls in 2027.
He said, “While some Nigerians have welcomed the judgement as a good development, we in NYFA are of the opinion that it is mere a distraction and decoy by the APC led government to now seek for peoples mandate in 2027.
“It is our opinion that the move was politically motivated because everything about APC is politics and toying with the people’s emotions as against good governance which ought to be the core of their actions.
“It is good that we celebrate this kind of judgement but it will be difficult to rewrite history regarding the LG autonomy.”
Dada added: “The Association of Local Government of Nigeria, ALGON, was created to advocate for longer tenure of elected local government chairpersons in 1999; as at 1999, only offices of LGA chairpersons were limited to three years while other political offices have four years.
“It is on record that former president Olusegun Obasanjo and the then Senate President Anyim, tried to amend the constitution to accommodate a 4-year tenure but President Bola Tinubu and other governors kicked against it and instead opted for state-guided elections and appointment of administrators for LGAs.
“President Tinubu did not only contribute towards the weakening of our local government for over 20 years, yet unconstitutionally created additional thirty seven (37) LCDAs and appointed administrators to run them.
“His sudden love for LG autonomy is suspicious. Now that the highest court in the land has given judgement granting autonomy to the local government areas, what will happen to the thirty seven LCDAs he created in Lagos without constitutional backing?”
The group further said, “A trial and error presidency can not take Nigeria anywhere except a competent and experienced person.
“Thus, we will entrust him with the affairs of our dear country in 2027 and fully back his race in running.
“We implore the APC led government to use their remaining 3-year tenure to focus on the real issues of hunger and starvation ravaging this country as the time for political moves has passed.
“Issues bordering inflation, devaluation of naira, fixing of the country’s refineries and curbing banditry should be of utmost concern so that Nigerians can genuinely applaud them and perhaps change the impression they have had of the party as incompetent.”
