Nigerian Concord Newspaper
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has strongly condemned the directive issued by the Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, through the Local Government Service Commission, ordering the 23 Local Government Councils to maintain attendance registers and threatening that workers who fail to meet a prescribed attendance threshold would be denied their monthly salaries.
This condemnation was contained in a press statement signed by Bright Yima, the State Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party.
According to him, this directive is not only draconian and anti-worker, but also a direct affront to the spirit and letter of the landmark Supreme Court judgment of July 2024 which affirmed the financial and administrative autonomy of Local Governments in Nigeria.
“The question Nigerians and Benue people must ask is simple: If Governor Alia has truly granted autonomy to Local Governments as he repeatedly claims, why is his administration still issuing directives to Local Government Councils on how to manage their workforce and threatening sanctions over salary payments?
“Autonomy means independence. Autonomy means Local Governments should be free to take decisions concerning their administration, personnel management and internal operations without interference from the State Government. A governor who genuinely believes in Local Government autonomy cannot simultaneously act as a supervisor, inspector, disciplinarian and paymaster of local government employees.
“What the directive has exposed is the glaring contradiction between the Governor Alia’s public rhetoric and the reality on the ground. While the administration continues to celebrate supposed local government autonomy in public speeches, its actions reveal a desperate determination to retain control over affairs of the 23 councils through intimidation and despotic directives.
“Even more disturbing is the threat that workers who fail to meet a prescribed attendance requirement would be denied salaries. The authority to determine staff attendance, discipline workers and administer payroll belongs to the appropriate local government authorities, not the Governor’s office or agencies acting on its behalf. Attempting to centralize such powers undermines the constitutional status of Local Governments and reduces elected council officials to mere spectators in the administration of their councils” the state ent reads in parts.
The party wondered whether Governor Alia receives directives from the Federal Government, stressing that if not, why does he believe it is proper to issue directives to the third tier of government, despite the constitutional legitimacy granted to Local Governments? “This is a clear abuse of power and a double-faced position”
The statement further reads: “Under Governor Alia’s administration, Local Governments have been reduced to mere appendages of the Government House. They neither possess the practical freedom nor the financial capacity to award contracts independently. The Governor runs the councils as extensions of his office, while any Local Government Chairman who dares to complain or assert independence is swiftly suspended and eventually forced out of office.
“It is particularly ironic that an administration which, since 2023, that instead of allowing the 23 local governments to use their resources to pay the arrears, the Alia administration has paid only one month of Local Government salary arrears now seeks to threaten workers with salary stoppages.
“Local governments in Benue State under the Alia administration have zero autonomy.
“The Alia administration lacks the moral standing to wield the big stick against workers while thousands continue to await the full settlement of outstanding arrears. A government that has not substantially addressed the financial plight of local governments employees should be more concerned with clearing their backlog of entitlements than issuing intimidating directives designed to instill fear in the workforce. Before threatening workers, Governor Alia should explain why the arrears of local government employees remain largely unresolved over three years into his administration, unlike other states who inherited worse wage situations but have since cleared the backlogs.
“The PDP is not opposed to accountability, discipline and productivity in the public service. However, these objectives must be pursued within the framework of the law and respect for constitutional governance. What Governor Alia is attempting to do is not reform; it is control. It is not autonomy; it is high-handedness.
“We therefore call on the Governor to immediately withdraw the said directive and allow Local Government Councils to exercise the powers and responsibilities constitutionally vested in them. The Alia administration must stop paying lip service to local government autonomy while simultaneously treating Local Governments as extensions of the Government House”