‘Local councils deserve autonomy’

Olawale Olayiwola is a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Mushin Constituency II. He spoke with Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN on the Sanwo-Olu administration, local government autonomy and why Mushin Federal Constituency should be upgraded into a Central Business District.

You have just been appointed as Chairman, House Committee on Local Government Administration. How do you feel?

I thank the Speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa for deeming it fit to appoint me as Chairman House Committee on Local Government Administration. It was borne out of loyalty to the leadership and the House.

The fourth schedule of the 1999 Constitution states that local government councils are administrative units of state government. Therefore, State governments have the constitutional role to supervise the administration of local governments in the country. The House of Assembly is assigned the role to monitor the activities of the local councils. In 2015, the Local Government Administration Bill passed into law by the Lagos House of Assembly stipulates that the activities of local government in the state will be regulated by the House. The law states the modus operandi, the structure i.e. the executive and the legislative arms, the number of councillors and the tenure of the local government. It was under the law that the tenure of local government in Lagos State was increased from two to three years.

What are the oversight functions of your committee on the local government?

The functions are many. First and foremost, it is the responsibility of the House Committee to monitor the financial transactions of all the local governments in the state, to ensure compliance with the rules that guide the local government finance especially in disbursing funds for projects. The committee also has to carry out supervisory role on projects executed by the local governments to ensure that projects budgeted for are executed according to the specifications. The committee is to serve as intermediary between the House of Assembly and the Local Governments. We shall report on the activities of the Local governments to the House on regularly basis. In a nutshell, the committee is a watchdog on the activities of the council to ensure accountability. For me Local Government administration is a familiar terrain because that is what I studied at the Master level in the University.

Federal Government has granted local government financial autonomy through direct payment of revenue allocation into their accounts. What is your comment?

Let me commend the President Muhammadu Buhari administration for achieving this feat. Over the years, there has been clamour for local government autonomy, but that has been made possible by the All Progressives Congress (APC) government. The reason why people have been calling for local government autonomy was that some state governments used to short change the local governments through the joint account system. The local government funds are diverted, leaving them with little or nothing to execute capital projects.

Financial autonomy for local government is a welcome development. Despite the autonomy, the Local Governments are still under the watchdog of the House of Assembly. The House will ensure that the funds collected are judiciously used. The house has power to suspend the local government executive for misappropriation. Besides the collaborative effort of the anti-graft agencies – Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), ICPC and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) have the power to investigate and freeze accounts of Local Governments suspected to have misappropriated public funds. There is a regulation by NFIU that local government can’t withdraw more than 500,000 at a time. All these regulations are to ensure judicious use of funds.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had mobilised contractors to rehabilitate some critical roads to ease traffic congestion. How will it benefit your constituency?

Governor Sanwo-Olu has plans to restore the glory of Lagos State as centre of excellence. He is working in accordance with the blue print produced by the first Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his tenure. I believe Sanwo-Olu will definitely take Lagos State to greater heights. He is a listening governor. The rehabilitation of roads would have started immediately he came on board but he was waiting for the rain to stop. You can see that most of the roads are owned by the Federal Government. The governor is sensitive to the plight of the commuters using the roads and the agony they pass through every day, that is why he decided not to wait for the Federal Government before doing the needful. By the time when the rehabilitation of the roads is completed, there will be free flow of traffic which will enhance movement of goods and services which will also boost the economy of the state.

The rehabilitation cut across the state. All constituencies will benefit. In fact, members of the Lagos House of Assembly have been asked to submit the list of roads and schools in their constituencies that need rehabilitation.

What prompted the vote of confidence passed on Speaker Mudashiru Obasa by members of the House?

It was an expression of his popularity among the members of the House. The Speaker is a team player; he carried us along in decision making and management. Hon Obasa is passionate about development of Lagos State. He was very supportive of the executive arm of government and that explained why Governor Sanwo-Olu was able to inaugurate some projects to mark his first 100 days in office. We need to demonstrate our confidence in him for all good things he had done so as to do more.

Your constituents want the state government to upgrade Mushin to a Central Business District. Do you think Mushin has what it takes to be CBD?

Yes, Mushin has all what it takes to become Central Business District. Mushin is one of the centres of commerce in Lagos State. We have four international markets, they are Daleko market that specialised in rice business. People from different part of the country patronise the market for rice and other food stuff. Amu market where building materials like tiles, doors, paints, plywood and locks thrive; Ladipo market for motor spare parts that attracts customers from Togo, Senegal, Ivory Coast and other neighbouring countries. Mushin is now the headquarters of printing business which hitherto used to be in Shomolu.

We have population advantage. In terms of party patronage,  Mushin had the second highest votes during the last general elections. We want the state government to reciprocate our loyalty by upgrading Mushin to CBD. We want those facilities accorded CBD to be replicated in Mushin such as total re-engineering of our road architect through construction of new roads, new communication facilities and free flow of traffic.

How have you impacted on your constituents in the last four and a half years?

Right from my first tenure, I have set the ball rolling by engaging people of my constituency in skill acquisition programme. I established a computer school that offers free ICT training which had graduated over 2000 students. It was established on June 2, 2002. I am happy I have raised the bar of computer literacy in Mushin environ. Many youths have continued to benefit from annual free GCE forms and tutorials sponsored by me to improve the standard of education and performance of our students in public examinations. I also provide school uniform for junior and senior secondary schools in my constituency. I pay school fees of many students. There was a day I was driving along Palm Avenue Street and found students of State High School (a private secondary school) roaming on the street. I found out that they were sent out of school because of school fees. That day I paid over N500, 000 to settle their fees. At the inception of the 9th Assembly, I introduced free bus service for the students in Mushin. The Makeup/Gele training empowerment programme had been a huge success as over 200 had benefitted from it.

Medium and small scale loans facilities have been facilitated for many of our traders in Mushin Constituency II. Charity and donations during yuletides have never failed. Cash and material gift and donations to the needy and institutions have been a daily activities. I have facilitated employment opportunities to my constituency from hospitals and health centres, LASTMA, Teaching Service Commission and Neighbourhood Watch. I have facilitated a number of road construction projects and street repairs that are absolutely verifiable. Government intervention projects have also been facilitated which include construction, equipping and upgrading general hospital, health centres, schools, drilling of boreholes and Idi-Araba Housing scheme.

Flooding is a major problem in Mushin. What do you think should be done to reduce its menace?

It is a major environmental challenge we have in Mushin. The main cause is indiscriminate dumping of refuse by the residents on drainage. They don’t have where to keep their waste. They don’t know the implication of blocking drainage with refuse especially when it rains. It wreaks havoc. The non-challant attitude must stop. The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) is doing a great job in Mushin by clearing heaps of refuse in market areas every day.