Nigeria not ripe for local government autonomy -Sulaimon
Hon Sulaimon Jelili Adewale, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is a chairmanship aspirant in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State in the July 22 council election. Adewale who is the immediate past Executive Secretary of the council, told INIOBONG IWOK in this interview why he is aspiring for the chairmanship position. He also spoke about local government administration in the country among other issues.
******What is your view about local government autonomy?
Is the local government ripe for autonomy? The constitution guarantees that; but I don’t think we are ripe for autonomy. That is why I say the governors should monitor the local governments so that they can perform, they should be policed and monitored. It is then they can perform. In the last administration; If it is not civil societies that protest and monitor the PDP local governments in several states, do you think they would have performed?
******But a lot of the state governors have completely taken over LG funds and appoint their cronies as sole administrators?
That is over bearing influence, that is bad and the LG have a law establishing them. There is the need for the State Houses of Assembly to come in and check their excesses to avoid all these lapses and over bearing influences.
******What was your experience as an executive secretary?
Well I got into office as executive secretary of Alimosho Local Government; we left around June last year, we spent about 15 months in office, it was an experience that would not be bought in the market; though it was challenging; the experience I gathered there was ok for me. I have had leadership experience before. While in school I was a union leader, it was that problematic and tough as people think. Before then I was a councillor and speaker, and I was there for two terms. Also before I occupy public office; I owned and ran a community based organisation, I was the president, we addressed issues affecting women groups, the youths. I regularly address this people even Oba, market women and the youths, so it was not new. So when I became the executive secretary I decided to expand it.
******What did you learn as the executive secretary?
I learnt transparency, accountability and good governance. It gives me the experience to be more accountable to my people. We have local government development accountability strategy; where the good people of Alimosho would come and present their needs, so we know how to prepare our budget for the year. You have to be a student of developmentalism, democracy and federalism.
If you don’t have that you would just be thinking of harnessing wealth for yourself. I am a democratic, I said I would not do my administration that way.
*****But some people think you did not give workers welfare a priority?
Well, it is like a drum; the Yoruba people would say: were the drum face is different, where it beat would be different. The people it faces would be happy and the other may not. Am a man of the masses, and I believe in the welfare of the people. The resources we have were limited, there were drop in revenue allocation to the LG from the Federal Government, the little we had we used it to develop local government.
You can’t satisfy everybody, my plan was to do more, because it is only if you satisfy your staff that you can get the best from them. I am sure by the time I get into the system again there would be more; I would take care of them because if you don’t do that you would be creating loopholes for corruption.
******What are the major needs of the people of Alimosho?
The people of Alimosho demand a lot of infra structural development both from the state and Federal Government. The state government is trying, some weeks back, the governor came to commission some roads, and there is the need for the Federal Government to come to address our needs, being the biggest local government in Lagos State and one of the biggest in the country; considering the huge votes they get form our local government, what they are giving us is not commensurate with our needs. Our youths need employment to avoid them engaging in robbery.
******What are your programmes if elected?
I want to make life more abundant for the people; I want to continue what I have been doing before for the people of Alimosho. And I want to build more health centres, like the one I built last year which is one of the best. I also constructed road in Akinlabi Street, I want to do more. And I make sure all the schools in my locality have furniture, if you go to Shasha primary and secondary school you would see, but I want to do more.
******The belief among Nigerians is that local government is just an avenue were money are shared, how do you react?
That is not true. I have not seen that. Here the governor would police you, the people would check you; the party leadership would monitor you. That is why I say it is not done here particularly in Alimosho. That is why we give thousands of votes to the Federal and Lagos State government.
Also there is check and balances in the council, I am a politician; I am also an activist, there is check and balance in the system.
*****Many Nigerians think, APC have failed how do you react?
That is your view, APC is performing as far as am concerned, you can see the mess that was left behind by the PDP administration, the mess that was done for years cannot be removed just less than two years.
******The anti corruption fight, the opposition say they are being targeted?
There is constitutional provision for whatever the President does and he has not broken any law with whatever he is doing, you can see the recovered loot, people burying money in the toilet and any were, and he is trying to recover them.
*****Why are you in politics?
I am there is to inject change, to make life more comfortable for my people. And that has been the qualities people saw in me and said go and become the chairman after being the executive secretary. If between that short period as the executive secretary you lay a legacy of health centres and roads and many others; then if you are elected you would do more.
I want to say that, if I win I would do more and put smiles on my people’s face; and I know that my God is there he has been doing it for me and I know I would win.
