Mr. Denen Aondoakaa, the Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to Governor Hyacinth Alia, has stated that Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Benue are financially autonomous. The special adviser made the disclosure on Monday in Makurdi during an interaction with journalists from the Correspondents’ Chapel, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Benue Council.
Aondoakaa clarified that the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs only coordinates the affairs of the local governments to ensure order.
His statement serves to reinforce the administration’s commitment to decentralizing power and providing local councils with the independence needed to drive grassroots development. The claim of financial autonomy suggests a significant shift in local governance within the state.
He emphasised that the LGAs in the state were executing their projects and programs without interference.
“It must be noted that the finances that accrue to each local government vary, and they utilize the resources based on their financial strength.
“Local government chairmen were given official vehicles before my appointment.
“But some chairmen gave theirs out to security agencies for patrol to stem insecurity in their domains. Some chairmen even bought motorcycles to add to that,” he said.
He described the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) as a creation of the law with the responsibility to address the humanitarian crisis.
Aondoakaa said that the state government was working tirelessly to improve health service delivery, stating that it had equipped 98 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) facilities, and some local governments have up to three and some four.
The special adviser said that to prevent drugs at the headquarters of the PHCs from going bad, the bureau had provided a transformer to serve its drug stores.
