Beyond the outrage, condemnation and disappointment that have trailed the recent viral video of Francis Nwifuru, Governor of Ebonyi, in which he threatened to remove newly elected LGA chairmen who fail to deliver their respective LGAs to the APC in 2027, the incident exposes a deeper structural problem: a governance system that has rendered government at the grassroots ineffective.
This structural failure is not limited to Ebonyi State. We have also seen in this country some LGA chairmen in Ogun State, in a viral video, prostrating in deference and apology to Dapo Abiodun, the state governor.
The LGA chairmen in Ogun had gone to apologise to the governor over an allegation in which one of them, Wale Adedayo, Chairman, Ijebu East Local Government, petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt and Other Related Offences Commission over the withholding of local government funds by Abiodun.
According to the Ijebu East chairman, LGAs in the state have not gotten their allocation for over two years. Ordinarily, this is an allegation that should be probed and supported by other LGA chairmen.
Still, out of fear, elected chairmen went to lie in front of a governor to say, “We’re sorry for saying you’re holding our money. You’re our father, please, forgive us.” On paper, local council leaders are elected by the grassroots, but in reality, these leaders are merely a selection of politically loyal individuals who are loyal to the governor rather than to the people who elected them.
