By Anietie Usen
The problems with local government governance in Nigeria are open secrets. Some observers think this layer of government in Nigeria is not only wanting but virtually absent without leave (AWOL).
There is no shortage of scholarly essays, critiques and exposition across the country on this subject matter. Apart from the well-known issues of lack of autonomy, weak institutions, misuse of funds and poor service delivery, which President Bola Tinubu, a true advocate of local government autonomy, has tackled more than any other Nigerian leaders in recent times, there are other softer but innovative routes, which true change agents in power, are now navigating and exploring to ensure that the local councils deliver on their mandates as envisaged in the Nigerian Constitution.
The Akwa Ibom model, under the leadership of Governor Umo Eno, deserves a closer look as many observers think it could ultimately serve as a prototype for the rest of Nigeria.
The Governor, a grassroot pastor of local churches, had shouldered the burden of dysfunctional local government councils, long before he was headhunted to run for the office of a governor.
From Day One of his acceptance to contest for the governorship, on Sunday evening, January 30, 2022, he set out, with his face like a flint, to change the narrative of this layer of government; and by extension the plight and blight of rural Akwa Ibom people. He knew, ab initio, as an everyday ordinary individual in Akwa Ibom State, where the shoe pinched.
To begin with, he set up a small but crack team of forward-thinking Akwa Ibom eggheads to work on his governance blueprint, now known as ARISE Agenda. He poured out his soul, as it were, into that blueprint.
On top of that, he hired other experts to conduct what development gurus call participatory rural appraisal, PRA, of every LGA in Akwa Ibom State.
He didn’t call it PRA. He simply called it “needs assessments”. Of course, one of the weak links, which was identified by the PRA, was a local government system that was in comatose.
All through his Statewide consultations and eventually the governorship campaigns, he harmered on the critical issue of strengthening the local governance at the LGA layer, as a way out of the underdevelopment of rural areas.
At every stop, he never stopped talking about the particular needs of that locality based on the needs assessment report he had sponsored. His grasp of the developmental challenges of rural areas was deep and insightful. His native wisdom and firsthand knowledge of the rural predicaments, prepared this Governor for the innovations, which rural governance in Akwa Ibom State, is now witnessing.
First, in recognition of the fact that some LGA Chairmen and deputies in the 31 LGAs were elected from the grassroots itself and needed a bit of polishing to build their capacities for good governance, Governor Eno flew the 62 newly elected LGA Chairmen and their deputies away from distractions to Lagos for a two-day retreat in Eko Hotels and Suites, with the theme “United For a Visionary Future”.
The retreat was carefully planned, together with critical stakeholders and resource persons, to align the LGA administrations with his goals and drive the vision of the Governor’s ARISE agenda in rural development. It was also designed to chart a collective template for growth and development, offer new projections for service delivery, and set timelines for growth.
Said Dr. Uwemedimo Udo, Chairman of Uyo LGA and State Chairman of ALGON at the venue of that retreat: “It has been a very rewarding experience. We have learned so much, and as leaders at the grassroots, there is a vision to successfully drive rural development as captured in the ARISE Agenda, which will offer more democratic dividends for our people.”
The Governor’s presence throughout that retreat was significant. It was at that retreat that the Governor reaffirmed the State government’s commitment to the full implementation of financial autonomy for LGAs, a promise he has kept religiously.
Talking to journalists about the relationship between the State and LGAs, Frank Archibong, Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs said: “It is a relationship that offers a fresh start for sustainable development which is carefully planned, programmed and monitored to make Akwa Ibom State not just a model but a reference for excellence in local government administration, the first of its kind”.
Secondly, instead of tampering with LGA funds from the federation accounts, Governor Eno began to add the State Government funds to the LGAs. Not only funds, he also added his novel ideas, innovative thoughts and fresh perspectives to strengthen Local Government governance in the State.
When Governor Eno talked about some of these unconventional approaches during the campaigns, many people thought his ideas of rural development were far-fetched and just another political promise.
He said that he had observed that almost all LGA Chairmen were young people, who may not have built their country homes yet. As a result, virtually all LGA Chairmen resided in Uyo, the State capital, and sometimes stopped over in their Council headquarters for meetings. He said he would bring an end to that drift and ensure that council chairmen reside in their Council headquarters, where they would be embedded and immersed in the challenges of their people and work hard to find solutions for them.
It sounded platonic and undoable. But in July 2023, barely two months in office as the Governor, he made good his promise to persuade LGA Chairmen to reside among their people. During the swearing-in of newly elected LGA Chairmen in the State, the Governor tasked them to “live within their areas of jurisdiction for effective delivery on their mandate as chief security officers and champions of rural development in their respective areas”.
He said that living within their jurisdiction would henceforth be a prerequisite for occupying the office of Chairmen of Councils, assuring that an Executive Bill would be sent to the State House of Assembly for legislative backing of his difficult and unNigerian proposal.
“I will soon present a bill to the House of Assembly to enact and enforce it to ensure that people who must lead our Local Governments must live in their respective Local Governments”, he said.
That was not a mere threat. Early in September 2023, the Governor forwarded an executive bill to the House of Assembly to that effect. Titled as “A bill for a law to make the Chairmen of Local Government Councils in Akwa Ibom State to reside in their Local Government Areas during their tenure of office, and for other connected purposes”, the bill captured the justifications for the proposal. Some critics were quick to condemn the bill as an infringement of the fundamental human rights of individuals to determine his own choice and place of abode.
And barely two weeks later on September 13, 2023, the bill was withdrawn during a plenary in the State House of Assembly after it had scaled the first reading and was up for a second reading. The reason was not the criticisms by critics. “It was the discovery by the House of Assembly that the same law was already in existence for nearly a decade but was not implemented”, Hon. Otobong Bob, the Deputy House leader, said.
Section 78, Cap 90 of the Local Government Administration Law of 2017, stated that: “The Principal Officers of the Local Government shall reside within the Local Government Area’s Headquarters and a contravention of this Section shall be deemed to be gross misconduct”.
This provision was sufficient impetus for Governor Eno to pounce on and pursue his goal to enforce the law to the hilt. “Local government chairmen must live in their headquarters and not elsewhere because governors are not living in Abuja and paramount rulers are not residing outside their domains…They must live among the people they serve, in order to share in the challenges and difficulties of their people, ensure their security as chief security officers of the LGA, as well as experience the absence of amenities first-hand and provide for them, especially now that LGAs are financially independent”, the Governor insisted.
On May 29, 2025, during his second anniversary commissioning of projects, Governor Eno backed his words with actions. He commissioned the first official residence of a Council Chairman in Eket. It was built and furnished by the State government, without the participation of Eket LGA. Known as The Chairman’s Lodge, similar to The Governor’s Lodge in Uyo, the model Lodge, which Eket people later nicknamed as ‘The People’s House’, consists of five distinct structures: the main residential building which is a four-bedroom duplex, a 50-seater conference hall, a generator house, boys’ quarters, and a gatehouse.
The comprehensive facility was designed to provide a conducive environment for local government chairmen to perform their duties effectively within their respective domains.
Said the Governor while commissioning the Chairman’s Lodge: “We have not asked you to bring money from your LGA allocations so that you don’t shortchange your PEOPLE in the process. And we have never and will never tamper with the allocations to any local government council. As I am speaking, the funds for similar Chairmen Lodge in 30 other local government areas, is ready and intact in the bank. Soon, the Chairman’s Lodge in the remaining 30 LGAs will grace the skies of 30 LGAs”.
The Chairman of Eket LGA, Akaninyene Tommey described the idea of an official residence for LGA Chairmen as “a visionary step that will change the face of local governance in Akwa Ibom State”.
Six months down the road, on January 14, 2026, just a few days ago, Governor Eno flagged off simultaneously the replication of the Chairman’s Lodge in the remaining 30 LGAs.
Represented by senior government officials in each LGA, Governor Eno said: “Our commitment is to strengthen local governance by ensuring that leadership is present, accessible, and accountable to the people. When governance is brought closer to the grassroots, development becomes faster and more inclusive”.
The Umo Eno model and strategy of Local Government governance is inventive and forward-thinking, rather than a recycle of the dormant ideas that never really delivered reasonable nor visible outcomes for rural folks.
This might be a tough act to follow by many States. But this is obviously the gold standard and deserves to be understudied across the country.
The outcome of this trailblazing ideas in the LGA governance is already visible in nearly all Akwa Ibom LGAs, as a healthy competition, to outperform each other in terms of deliverables, has ensued among the Council Chairmen. They attain regular peer review meetings together periodically, where they present their scorecards, status reports on projects and programmes, compare notes and set realistic timelines for completion of their projects/programmes. All thanks to the new template Governor Eno has drawn for the LGAs.
Frank Archibong, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs said the noticeable change in the tempo of rural development and governance in the State is because “the Council Chairmen know they are working under a unique and hardworking Governor… Everyone of them is trying to replicate the ARISE Agenda in their own local government areas and we estimate that 95 percent of them are doing very well”.
According to Inyang Ukpong, a recently retired school principal: “If you go to my LGA in Ika now and see the gigantic projects going on there, you’ll be amazed that a local government council is handling those projects “.
Archibong, the Commissioner of Local Government Affairs, confirmed the outstanding performance of Barr. Utibe Nwoko-led Ika Council and highlighted other LGAs that are performing creditably. “Itu LGA has completed a new smart secretariat. Go to Eket LGA, the chairman is ready to commission a new Council Secretariat any time from now. There’s a total turn around in that secretariat.
“If you go to Etim Ekpo LGA, you will certainly be impressed. The first LGA to tar a road that I went to commission on behalf of His Excellency, was in Ibiono Ibom LGA. I was truly dazed by what the young Council Chairman, Asuakak Umoh, has achieved in such just one year in office.
“Not only has Ibiono Ibom Chairman constructed a road, he gave the traditional rulers a befitting Traditional Ruler Council, TRC, complex. And the road leading to the TRC complex was also nylon-tarred”, Archibong said.
In Uyo LGA, the Chairman, Dr. Uwemedimo Udo has earned very high marks for what Archibong described as “ultra modern medical center” and electricity transformers donated by the chairman of Uyo Council to various communities in his Council as well as roads constucted.
Ikot Abasi LGA is also doing well. The Council recently flagged off the construction of a one and a half kilometre road. In Etinan, Pastor Godwin Utin, the PDP Ward Chairman in Urban Ward 5, said the new Council, led by Uko Umoh has commissioned a water project in Afaha Akpan Ekpo.
The Personal Assistant to the Governor in charge of Etinan Urban Ward 5, Mr. Anietie Ubeh, also praised the Etinan Council leadership for commissioning a remodeled Health Centre in Ikot Esen Oku and Ndon Utim, in addition to the construction of Etinan Main Park and Etinan Plaza.
In nearby Nsit Ubium LGA, the Council Chairman, Mr. Alfred Charles has focused on the educational goals of ARISE Agenda. Apart from awarding scholarships to 53 natives in tertiary institutions, he has also set up a JAMB CBT Center in the Council Secretariat, under his watch, to help increase the chances of Nsit Ubium candidates during the JAMB entrance examinations into universities.
The five women who are chairmen (yes, they call each of them Chairman and that’s official) in Esit Eket, Ibeno, Ikono, Abak and Nsit Ibom, have proven right the adage that what a man can do, a woman can do even better. All of them are trying to be mini Umo-Eno’s, when it comes to ARISE Farm and ARISE Compassionate HOMES, not to mention the construction of markets.
Indications are that Governor Eno has demanded a periodic publication of a compendium that captures all the achievements of every LGA, which will be made available to stakeholders and the public at large.
The periodic publication, to be anchored by ALGON, will not only centre ob projects but also on capacity building and human capital development programmes which include scholarship awards in tertiary institutions, entrepreneurial support and skills acquisition training at the rural level.
But probably one of the most appreciated part of the remodelled Akwa Ibom LGA governance template is the insistence by Governor Eno that all LGAs must set aside a percentage of their monthly allocation from the Federal Government for payment of gratuities to retired and mostly sick and frail former Council workers.
So every month, the 31 Councils jointly contribute N1, 000,000,000 (One Billion Naira) to defray and cut down the backlog of gratuities owed to retired local government workers. It is a conscious and consistent commitment that ensures every month, a batch of retired Council workers look forward to their turn to receive their gratuities.
Said Asuakak Umoh, Chairman of Ibiono Ibom Council: “Even when we had a shortfall in our allocation sometime ago, the Governor leveraged the local government councils from the State Account, so that the gratuity payment can continue to be uninterrupted. “His Excellency is very intentional about it because that is what he is doing at the State level. This is good governance and worthy of copying, if that is the right word, by other States”.
As a major part of the Local Government system, the traditional institution in the State has not been left out in the lurch. Since the State graduated to the new minimum wage regime, the traditional institution was also made to graduate into higher emoluments. There has been an increase in the allowances of village heads, clan heads and paramount rulers.
Said Dr. Ekere Emah, head of the department of Peace & Conflict Studies, Obong University, Obong Ntak: “This Governor is helping President Tinubu so much to realise his dream-local government model. He has oiled the engine of local government governance in Akwa Ibom State in such a way that the ship of our State is steaming and coasting home stress-freely like never before. We are now in a comfortable, low-effort phase, in a relationship that is otherwise full of conflict elsewhere in the country”.
*Usen writes from Uyo
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