The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has commended the Senate for calling on President Bola Tinubu to convene a national dialogue on local government autonomy.

The director-general of ALGON, Itiako Ikpokpo, who gave the commendation in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said the Senate’s call was a welcome development.

Mr Ikpokpo said, “The National leadership of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has hailed as most welcoming, the call by the Senate on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to convene a national dialogue on local government autonomy.

“ALGON notes that the myriad of constitutional barriers, structural, and administrative challenges plaguing the nation has made a national dialogue on local government administration not only desirable but urgently imperative in setting a sustainable and systemic agenda for even development of the nation.”

The director-general said the association requested the commitment of the federal government, National Assembly, Nigeria Governors’ Forum and other stakeholders towards sincere resolutions on issues of local government autonomy and community policing.

He said other issues included security, primary education, healthcare, national integration, the role of traditional institutions, agricultural facilities, and other fundamental encumbrances to the nation’s political, economic, and socio-political development.

Mr Ikpokpo expressed confidence in the conference’s potential to reposition the nation on the path of rapid progress and development.

According to him, ALGON appeals against the dangers of reducing the event to a mere talk shop and allowing its voluminous resolutions to dot the shelves without commensurate implementation.

Mr Ikpokpo reiterated the association’s readiness to partner with the federal and state governments, the nation’s parliament, and other institutions to achieve the successful convocation of the national dialogue. 

(NAN)