Bayelsa State Governor, His Excellency Douye Diri, recently took to social media platform X to assert that his administration has consistently upheld the financial autonomy of local governments, even before the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling. In his statement, Governor Diri emphasized that his government has never tampered with local government funds.
“We have received the Supreme Court’s decision on the financial autonomy of Local Government Councils. However, it is essential to highlight that my administration has been practicing this autonomy in principle. We do not interfere with the allocations to Local Government Areas,” he stated.
Governor Diri further explained that the state government has been augmenting allocations for several LGAs that struggle to meet their financial obligations, particularly regarding salary payments. “Our reforms have largely sanitized the system. Local Government Chairmen can now not only meet their financial obligations to workers but also undertake projects and still have savings at the end of each month,” he added.
The Governor also shed light on a significant issue facing Bayelsa State: the disproportionate number of Local Government Areas. “Bayelsa State has not been fairly treated in the creation of Local Government Areas. Despite our size and needs, we still have only eight LGAs, unlike other states with as many as 44 or 40 LGAs. This is a clear injustice,” Governor Diri declared.
He called for states to have the authority to determine and create the number of local governments they can support. “You don’t create local governments and then take resources from one state to cater for the local governments in another state. That is robbing Peter to pay Paul!” he exclaimed.
Governor Diri concluded his statement with a firm demand for corrective measures. “As Governor of Bayelsa State, we demand urgent actions to correct this imbalance. Bayelsa deserves no fewer than 30 Local Government Areas,” he asserted.
Governor Diri’s stance highlights the ongoing struggle for fair representation and resource allocation among Nigeria’s states, shedding light on the pressing need for equitable distribution of local government areas to ensure balanced development and governance.
PIONEER NEWS 