Presidency: Local Governments Hold Key to Ending Poverty in Nigeria

The Presidency has said that Nigeria’s local governments hold the greatest potential for tackling poverty, insisting that grassroots governance is central to improving the welfare of the country’s most vulnerable citizens.

The Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs in the Office of the Vice President, Tope Fasua, made the assertion during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where he defended the Federal Government’s push for greater financial autonomy for local government councils.

According to Fasua, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has deliberately devolved more responsibilities and financial resources to states and local governments to enable them address grassroots challenges more effectively.

He argued that poverty reduction is best driven at the local government level because councils are the closest tier of government to the people.

“The solution to poverty is really at the local government. They are the ones closest to the people, and that is why the President has consistently advocated local government autonomy while ensuring states receive increased funding,” Fasua said.

He recalled that local government chairmen traditionally served as the first point of contact for vulnerable citizens seeking assistance, stressing that strengthening the third tier of government would improve service delivery and social interventions.

Fasua maintained that the improved financial position of states and local governments under the current administration has enhanced their ability to meet salary obligations, pay pensions and support vulnerable residents.

According to him, the era when many state governments owed workers salaries for several months has largely ended due to increased allocations and fiscal reforms.

The presidential aide also stressed that sustainable poverty reduction requires comprehensive household data to properly identify and support poor families.

Drawing lessons from China’s poverty eradication programme, he said effective interventions depend on detailed records of individual households, a task that cannot be handled by the Federal Government alone.

He noted that state and local governments are better positioned to gather such data because of their proximity to communities.

Fasua reiterated that strengthening local government administration remains essential to achieving lasting poverty reduction and inclusive development across Nigeria.

His remarks come as the Federal Government continues to defend its economic reforms and the implementation of local government autonomy, following the landmark Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to Nigeria’s 774 local government councils.