Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi State has declared that the judgement of the Supreme Court on Local Government Autonomy is a relief for his administration.
Ododo said with the judgement, the state Joint Account Committee now has jurisdiction over the local government fund.
Spokesperson of the governor, Ismail Isah, said this in a statement on Tuesday.
The statement quoted the governor as saying “the fund meant for local government areas from the federation account allocation committee will now go directly to the local government areas in the state.”
The governor has also urged the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to reserve 40 per cent of councillorship positions to women as candidates of the party in the October 19 local government election in the state.
The 40 per cent was part of the party’s resolution of the party when it met on Tuesday in Lokoja
Governor Ododo who attended the meeting, also applauded the decision of the APC in the state to nominate women as Vice chairmanship candidates in the 21 local government areas in the state as well as nomination of elected women councillors as council leaders in all the local government councils of the state.
According to the statement, Governor Ododo expressed commitment to consolidate on the achievements of his predecessor Yahaya Bello on the attainment of the 35 per cent affirmative action for women in elective positions in the state.
“He said the APC in the state will continue to give more opportunities to women in appreciation of their loyalty and support for the party at all levels.
“The Governor also called on the leadership of the party to engage in wide consultations with stakeholders to produce candidates that will represent the party in the 239 wards and the 21 local government areas, stressing that the APC must avoid imposition of candidates ahead of the local government election.”
