We’ll grant financial autonomy to Kaduna LGs — Gov Sani

The 23 Local Government Areas in Kaduna State will continue to receive financial autonomy from the state government for development purposes, according to Governor Uba Sani.

This was said by the governor on Monday during a courtesy visit with the 23 council chairmen at Kaduna’s Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House.

In dealing with the populace, Sani urged the council chairmen to avoid using political, religious, or tribal prejudice.

In his appeal for assistance from local governments in establishing lasting peace, he noted that local government was still the most significant level of government because “it is the closest to the people.”

According to him, doing this would help the populace overcome the difficulties presented by the crises and the impending insecurity in the country.

This came right after the governor announced that his administration would collaborate with local governments on infrastructure development projects, but added that “we need to know what project will benefit our people most.”

“Our administration will maintain the financial autonomy that local governments in Kaduna State have enjoyed for the past eight years,” the governor declared.

“Local government chairmen ought to concentrate on development initiatives; the days of purchasing goods and distributing them to the populace are gone.

“Politics are no longer necessary; there should be no party, religious, or ethnic prejudice in the projects. Our administration’s main priorities are safety and security. In order to earn the public’s trust, we will collaborate closely with the local government administration.

The effective use of intelligence gathering. Our administration will give the development of rural areas priority by providing infrastructure to all local governments, particularly the rural local governments.

“In carrying out the rural development program, we shall adopt an inclusive approach wherein local government chairmen will be carried along as key stakeholders. There will be participation from traditional leaders, faith-based groups, and women’s organizations.

Earlier in his speech, the Kaduna State chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Hon. Abubakar Buba, stated that he and his colleagues were visiting in support of the governor.

In order to improve public relations with the government, Buba, who also serves as the chairman of the Lere Local Government, made a request on behalf of his colleagues.

He said, “We would appreciate it if we had a quality meeting so that we could be on the same page and for you to be aware of what is going on at the local government level.