Okupe Slams FG’s Bid For LG Autonomy: ‘We’re Losing Touch With Reality

Doyin Okupe, the former Director-General of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council, has criticized the Federal Government’s legal action against the governors of the 36 states concerning local government autonomy. The Federal Government has taken the governors to the Supreme Court, accusing them of interfering with local council administrations and demanding full autonomy for local governments across the country………CONTINUE READING

Okupe, speaking to newsmen on Sunday, condemned the lawsuit as unnecessary and regrettable. He argued that, in a federal system, only two units exist: the federal government and the states. According to him, the notion of local governments as a third tier should be removed from the constitution.

He emphasized that local governments are purely state matters and should not involve the federal government. Okupe stated, “We should have a genuine federal system where only the Federal Government and the states come together. Local governments are entirely within state jurisdiction and should be excluded from federal concerns.”

He further argued that the nation’s resources should be divided solely between the Federal Government and the states. “The Federal Government’s push for local government autonomy in a federal system is misguided. It’s disheartening that we seem to be confused about what is right and what is wrong in our country.”

Okupe suggested that states should have the freedom to determine the number of local governments they need for grassroots development and manage their funding accordingly.