LG Autonomy Should not be addressed by National Assembly- Gbajabiamila.

The Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said the National Assembly should not address local government autonomy matters.
Gbajabiamila stated this while speaking at a two-day leadership capacity training organized by the Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu, for newly elected local government chairpersons and councillors Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State in Abuja, yesterday.

He noted that since the constitutional amendment process is going on and the areas of possible amendments are open, it is in Nigerians’ hands to decide whether or not to have local government autonomy.
“We did it the last time, but when we went back to the states, we could not get the required two-thirds. So it is a process, and we have followed the process.
“While we were working on constitutional amendment, two-thirds of the states did not agree with us. So it is certain that it is the people that will decide whether they want autonomy for local government or not,” he said.

The speaker, however, asserted that as responsible lawmakers in the ninth Assembly, they would continue to have the overall interest of Nigerians.
He said he is confident that the training organized for the councillors will expose them to exemplary leadership, adding that while some people were born leaders, others acquired leadership; he stated further that either way, there was the need to go through training to be able to gain the necessary experience.
The speaker further charged the participants to put the leadership qualities they will acquire from the training to maximize their potentials.

He noted that since the local government is the closest to grassroots and bedrock of democracy, it is the best place to exhibit the potentials.
“It is important to know what it takes to have followers. As leaders, you must understand that you have followers and you have to deal with them on the issues of governance,” Gbajabiamila added.