The chairman of the Taraba State Advisory Committee on Local Government Autonomy, Rt. Hon. Abel Peter Diah, said Governor Agbu Kefas has taken a bold step towards deepening grassroots governance by initiating a bill to grant full autonomy to the state’s 16 local government councils well ahead of the recent Supreme Court judgment mandating such autonomy nationwide.
Diah disclosed this in Jalingo during the official presentation of the committee’s report to the governor at the executive chamber of the T.Y. Danjuma House.
Diah, who also represents the Mbamnga constituency in the State House of Assembly, said the committee had carried out extensive consultations across the state’s three geopolitical zones.
As part of its mandate, the committee, according to him, engaged traditional rulers, civil society groups, community-based organisations, and other key stakeholders through sensitisation meetings focused on the importance and implementation of local government autonomy.
He outlined the core focus areas of the committee’s work, which include ensuring financial independence for local councils, improving grassroots security, enhancing stakeholder capacity, and fostering inclusive community engagement.
Diah added that the recommendations submitted to the governor were drawn from wide-ranging inputs from across the state.
Responding after receiving the report, Governor Kefas lauded the committee’s efforts, describing the report as “thorough and impressive.”
He assured that the government would fully implement the recommendations, noting that the work had provided a solid policy framework for advancing local government autonomy in Taraba.
“The proper implementation of this report will restore the dignity of our local government system and ensure real development reaches our communities,” Kefas said.
The governor also stressed the importance of electing competent and accountable local government chairmen to drive the reform process.
The move by the Taraba State government, comes at a critical moment as debates intensify across Nigeria regarding the decentralisation of governance and the empowerment of local institutions in line with the Supreme Court ruling.
Taraba Gov pushed for council autonomy before Supreme Court verdict – State Committee chair
