By Ikenna Osuoha
A civil society organisation (CSO), Initiative for Leadership Development and Change (ILDC), has urged state and local governments to alleviate poverty through enhanced economic governance.
President of the CSO, Chief Ugochukwu Nnam, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.
Nnam, who lauded President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to alleviating poverty in the country, noted that the Federal Government decided to increase monthly allocations to state and local governments to improve the welfare of the people at the grassroots.
NAN reports that monthly allocations to state and local governments had witnessed tremendous increase since the advent of the Tinubu-led administration in 2023.
According to the ILDC president, prudent and vibrant state and local governments are crucial for improving local services and tackling poverty.
“State and local governments are constitutionally positioned as frontline implementers of poverty reduction programmes.
“While states manage education, healthcare and state-level economic growth, local governments target rural infrastructure, agriculture and local social welfare,” he said.
Nnam, while interrogating prudent management of resources by states and local governments, however, said that they had failed in their primary roles and impacts.
“You don’t expect President Tinubu to come into the rural areas to build primary and secondary schools.
“State and local governments should be able to give account of their stewardship in the management of funds and staffing of primary and secondary schools,” he said.
Nnam reiterated the need for enhanced economic transformations at the grassroots, urging Nigerians to hold governments accountable.
He said that with the monthly allocations currently being received by state and local governments, they should have the capacity to provide access to free or subsidised education, which he identified as a vital tool for long-term poverty alleviation.
The CSO’s president also called for improved healthcare infrastructure in state-owned hospitals and support for primary healthcare centers.
This, he said, would help in ensuring that vulnerable citizens have access to affordable medical services at the state and local government levels.
Nnam further stated that state-level economic initiatives like vocational training, subsidised agricultural inputs and micro-credit schemes for local businesses and cooperative societies could go a long way in job creation.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
IMO/WAS
Edited by ‘Wale Sadeeq
