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By Naomi Sharang

The National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), has promised to intensify efforts to ensure that the National Assembly grants autonomy to Local Government Councils in the country.

The Director-General, NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman said this at the closing of a two-day capacity building on “Local Government Effectiveness for Kaduna State Local Government Officials” on Wednesday in Abuja.

Sulaiman said that NILDS would continue to be a strategic partner in the efforts to reposition local government councils to discharge their constitutional responsibilities in Nigeria.

“We believe in the local government administration as the closest level of government for effective participation of the teeming population of the country in its governance system.

“We shall therefore continue to be at the forefront of efforts to ensure that local government autonomy becomes a reality in Nigeria.

“The Executive could decide to embark on certain constraints, deny local government their revenue, but such denials will not last forever,” he said.

Sulaiman urged the participants to gear up in anticipation of local government autonomy in the near future.

“We are an institute. And through the institute to the national assembly, we shall support every local government in ensuring that true autonomy is granted to local governments.

“It is a struggle we must all fight for and a struggle we must all win,” he said.

The director-general said that the objective of the programme was to improve the professional competence of local government officers to discharge their duties in line with international best practices.

“To us at the Institute, this capacity building training is important.

“This is because it is tailored to meet specific needs of the local government administration, particularly those skills and knowledge that will enable them to support the work of an autonomous local government in Kaduna State,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr Shuaibu Jaja, the Chairman, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Kaduna State chapter, said that Nigeria’s democracy was getting stronger in spite of the challenges facing the nation.

“But with the calibre of people that are gathered here, I’m confident most of these problems will soon be addressed.

“I feel motivated that Kaduna State will collaborate with the centre and the consultant.

“This is to bring more people of Kaduna state to acquire professional skills to improve the capacity of our citizens to prepare adequately for the challenge of this century,” he said.(NAN)

Edited by Ali Baba-Inuwa

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Published By

Philip Daniel Yatai

Editor/Assistant Chief Correspondent,
FCT Correspondent,
NAN Abuja.

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