Amend Agency Laws to strengthen local councils, Kaduna govt urged

The Kaduna State government has been urged to consider an amendment the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (Consolidated Tax) Law, Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency (KASUPDA) Law, and Kaduna State Market Development Agency Law respectively with a view to relieving the 23 local government councils of the state from the bondage of the immediate administration’s usurping excesses inflicted upon their constitutional powers.

The call was made by the Renewed Kaduna Restoration Group (RKRG) in a communique after its meeting in Kaduna.

The communique jointly signed by Dr Ahmed Tijjani Ramalan and Yahaya Ibrahim Shinko, chairman and secretary of the group respectively, expressed concern that over the strain of LGC’s which they said negatively impedes their ability to function effectively by arbitrarily confiscating, managing and controlling their constitutionally enshrined revenue sources, collection of their internally generated revenue, and administration of the tax law in the state, against the provisions of the constitution.

“RKRG calls and enjoins the Kaduna State Government to consider and amend the Kaduna State Local Government Law 2018 by the immediate past administration by which only in Kaduna State the local government councils established by the 1999 Constitution are operating with a structure of three or four departments, against the extant provisions of Chapter 1 of the Financial Memoranda as existing law of the federation, which provides for the structure, composition, finance, duty, and procedural of exercising the executive powers of the local governments shall be seven (7) distinct Departments under Director of Administration and General Services Department, Director of Finance Department/Treasurer to the Local Government, Director Agriculture and Natural Resources Department, Director Budget, Planning, Research and Statistics Department, Director/Coordinator, Primary Health Care Department, Director Social Development, Education, Information, Sports and Culture Department, and Director Works, Transport, Housing, Lands and Survey Department, respectively, and to provide employment opportunities for senior and junior cadre among the teeming youth in the state.”

They however called on the federal government and Governor Uba Sani to exhibit unwavering commitment in the war against poverty, banditry, kidnapping and other forms of criminal activities.