By Dr. Yinka Folahan
TEAM ARAPAJA
IBADAN — The fundamental promise of the local government system in Nigeria is simple: to bring governance closer to the people. It was designed to ensure that the farmer in Saki, the trader in Oyo, and the artisan in Ibarapa do not need to travel to the capital city of Ibadan to feel the impact of public administration. However, under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde, this tier of government has been systematically neutralized. Despite a landmark Supreme Court ruling mandating financial autonomy for local government areas (LGAs), Makinde's continuous grip on council funds has fundamentally undermined grassroots development, leaving local administrations paralyzed and vulnerable to systemic corruption.
When the Supreme Court delivered its historic judgment granting financial autonomy to LGAs, declaring the withholding of local funds by state governors unconstitutional, public expectations were high. Yet, Governor Makinde dismissed the ruling as a "distraction". Rather than immediately complying and allowing federal allocations to flow directly to the 33 local councils, his administration swiftly instituted legal and technical committees to review the verdict, finding mechanisms to maintain the State Joint Local Government Account.
By persistently centralizing financial control, critics argue that the Governor has reduced elected council chairmen to "glorified civil servants". Local governments can no longer independently plan or execute meaningful projects. Across Oyo State, the consequences of this centralization are glaring:
Inner-city and rural roads across Oke-Ogun and other regions remain entirely neglected, as councils lack the financial leverage to deploy basic grading equipment.
Primary health centers—the absolute bedrock of rural medicine—suffer severe deficits in basic medical equipment and personnel.
Local primary school structures are deteriorating without immediate intervention because every minor repair requires a lengthy approval process from the state capital.
This dynamic directly contradicts the very reason local governments were created. Instead of bringing government to the people, Makinde’s administrative methodology has pushed the government further away, concentrating absolute power within the Agodi Secretariat.
The structural subversion of local government independence does more than just stall development; it creates a fertile environment for financial lack of accountability. By forcing council allocations through state-controlled pipelines, the institutional checks and balances originally built into local governance are entirely dismantled.
When the local populace cannot easily track how their specific council’s money is being managed, accountability disappears. This centralized framework has fueled severe allegations of corruption and embezzlement within the state:
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Oyo State's Accountant-General over allegations involving the laundering of ₦9 billion. Intelligence sources alleged that these funds were systematically deducted from local government accounts to fund high-level political campaigns.
Civic observers and opposition groups frequently highlight that the state administration regularly diverts billions of Naira belonging to the 33 LGAs to execute flagship state-level projects. This creates an illusion of widespread development in urban centers like Ibadan while completely impoverishing the rural communities whose funds were taken.
The suppression of local administration has also hit personnel. Over 300 former elected local councillors took the Makinde administration to the National Industrial Court, demanding over ₦5.7 billion in unpaid salaries, furniture allowances, and severance benefits that were allegedly withheld due to state interference.
While Governor Makinde heavily promotes an image of inclusive governance and structural transformation, his resistance to grassroots financial freedom tells a very different story. Observers note that true democracy cannot thrive when the lowest tier of governance is kept on a financial leash.
By denying Oyo’s local governments the space to breathe and manage their own resources, the current administration has replaced genuine grassroots representation with a top-down, authoritarian approach to local affairs. Until the allocations from the Federation Account are allowed to reach the councils directly without state interference, the people of Oyo State will continue to bear the burden of an underfunded, corrupted, and highly ineffective local government system.
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