ALGON 45Th NEC Meeting:National President Alabi Shares Insights On How
Nigeria Can Become Global Player, Attract FDI, Insists LGAS/Councils
Must Be Fully Carried Along
By Obiora Orji
Worried by the years of hemorrhaging struggles for Nigeria’s global relevance and missing links
for its burgeoning economic prosperity, the National President of the Association of local
governments of Nigeria ALGON the only veritable platform and an amalgam of over 774 local
governments and area councils in Nigeria, Hon. Kolade David Alabi has set agenda with
innovative solutions as a paradigm shift that will redefine the future of the Country in broader
perspective.
Speaking during his open address to the National Executive Council Members at its 45th
meeting over the week in Abuja, Alabi narrated how some ALGON’s apex decision making
body the (NEC and BOT) went on a 2 day strategic visit to National Assembly with separate
meeting before some Senators and Honourable Members of the Federal House of
Representative took place, thanking the Senate leadership and other principal officers led by
Distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio and Rt. Honourable Tajudeen Abbas pledging the
unflinching loyalty and solidarity of the entire councils across the country to their oversight
and constitutional responsibility of pivoting for a better Nigeria. He opened up to his
colleagues at the strategic NEC meeting on what the country has been losing in
the
international space due to poor political will, apathy of some multinational development
partners like the European Union, United Cities and Regions as well as other numerous donor
agencies of the world He blamed it on malfeasance and disregard of world leading best
practices evident in the global Gateway development ecosystem with its value chain
transforming numerous nations including the likes of Morocco and Egypt as well as Sudan.
He said that Nigeria’s must rise up like other Africans countries and fast emerging countries
of the world that are remarkably showing resilience in forcing their leaders to comply with
popular demands for true democratic change that guarantee political pluralism to curb much
power at the centre which is the standard best practices world over, hence the common
denominator of devolution of powers especially to the local government. He noted that the
present situation calls for open and democratic governance, characterised by popular
participation, competitive elections, and free flow of funds devoid of undue interference The ALGON National President noted that for Nigeria to exit from its present ‘ghost-mode’ in
the international map to one of the countries with viable opportunities, its local government
system duly guaranteed by the Constitution as enshrined in (Section 7 sub 1) as Amended must
be in accordance with its letters and spirit in line with the framers of the ground norm.
While thanking the National Assembly that the present 10th Assembly jointly agreed that the
Local Government and Councils are the linchpin of the nation’s growth, it therefore must be
protected for all its entitlements, given unhindered access that discourages ‘business as usual’
perception, hence according to him; the need for aggressive structured decentralization
reform of the local authorities and regard as state actors given its huge demography,
economic prowess of solid mineral deposits, agriculture value chain, human capital, as
destination for a new world and as pride of place before international partners like the
European Union.
The National President also told his NEC members that he shared the insight with the National
Assembly that the Movement towards functional and effective constitutional democracy
world over is presently about globalization that patronizes local development through an
unhindered bottom up approach. This he said despite being promoted widely by world
leading institutions, such has been the infallible stand of the Association of Local
Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in the past five years of his administration as the ALGON
National President.
Alabi noted that such new disposition towards a renewed democratization in Nigeria is a
consequence of pressures from both internal and external presently of which the entire
populace need not take the back seat to save the local government system and the nation in
general.
During the NEC meeting, he pointed out that experience has shown that the 3 Tiers of
Government are most times at cross purpose in terms of right needs assessment, prioritizing
projects, and political will to strengthen the last leg of the Tier which is the local government.
He pointed out that for Governor’s and other leaders to deliver on the promises of economic
growth and prosperity as bandied and encapsulated in their various campaigns are more of
wishful thinking due to poor encouragement and inability to acceptance of some well structured development realities by grating freedom to the councils.
He said that aligning with policies that identify competitiveness moving forward, offers
opportunity to be supported by both local and international partners, external aid donors and
creditors on good governance aimed at providing numerous window of opportunity for
Nigeria will be the best interest of the grassroots; citing his several . He said that the direct
beneficiary like the councils need the support of every patriotic Nigerian to push for
unhindered inclusion which will create space for holding its managers accountable. has become obvious according to him that even the western donors are becoming more
choosy and selective with whom or where to domicile their assistance, focusing on countries
undertaking both political and economic reforms through bottom up approach, the kind of
system that derives direct impact on the economy devoid of mismanagement as a result of
some democratic forces.
It will be recalled that the NEC agreed in maximizing the engagement with the two chambers
of National Assembly for true democratization and sanitization of the councils. They unitedly
believed that local government is the development destination of the country to
simultaneously solving acute problems of economic reconstruction, renewal and
rehabilitation ofthe asphyxiating system that has since been patterned to fail. They said it was
retrogressive that overtime democracy proved elusive in the local level having aggregated the
indices with key performance Indicators (KPI) overtime including the failure of the Sustainable
Development Goal which was its surface approach that do not directly affect the grassroots.
He concluded by thanking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his infallible position for good
governance and as an exemplary local government friendly leader whose development
imprints have revolutionalized the local government system pleading with him to save the
current situation as part of global regime identity and for posterity.
Hon Alabi appealed for cross-fertilization of ideas which was part of the sub-theme in the NEC
meeting on been how best to intensify the advocacy of embedding democratic concepts that
will not be alien to the country but those which will meaningfully affect the people in the rural
areas, He call for leaders to reinvigorate their rule with community inputs, this according to
him has worked in Africa citing of particular mention like Tangier in Morocco which has
steadily undergo rapid development and modernization with interest in Tourism and have
become a destination of sort as an examples, he also praised leadership in Tapas Cairo Egypt
which was developed by its Local administration like the local government.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Sam Udekwe is a journalist working in the News and Current Affairs department, Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS) Enugu. He is well trained in all genres of journalistic venture.
Mr Sam read Mass Communication, graduating all with Distinction in National Diploma, Higher National Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma at IMT, Enugu and Madonna University, Okija, Anambra state, while he is presently on his M.Sc programme also in Mass Communication, at National Open University of Nigeria.
He is currently the NUJ Chairman, Enugu state.
samowailo@gmail.com
