House of Representatives member for Demsa/Numan/Lamurde federal constituency in Adamawa State under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Laori Kwamoti, has said that the constitutional powers to give autonomy to local councils rest with the Houses of Assembly and not state governors.

Kwamoti told journalists yesterday in Yola that governors could not implement what their lawmakers did not approve.

“We, at the National Assembly, passed the law granting local governments autonomy long before now, and it was sent to the 36 House of Assembly for assent as required by law. But they refused. So, where is the fault of governors in this case?” he queried.

Advising Nigerians to vent their anger on their state legislators, the federal lawmaker noted that only a vibrant legislature could restore good leadership and protect the tenets of democracy.

He described the recent comments by the Adamawa chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ibrahim Bilal, that Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, would not return to office in 2023, as wishful thinking.

According to him, the people of Adamawa have dumped party politics and embraced the politics of voting the best candidate, pointing out that Adamawa APC could not produce a candidate that has the capacity to compete with Fintiri.

He maintained that the return of PDP in Adamawa was an open confirmation by the people of the state that APC failed woefully in the state.

Since the defunct Gongola State to the present Adamawa, he added, no government has ever embarked on huge gigantic projects that have direct bearing on human development and economic prosperity like Fintiri’s.

“Most of Fintiri’s projects were commissioned by the real progressives; those that stand for both human and economy progress. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, a top APC chieftain and other chieftains accompanied him to commission projects and they expressed delight. APC governors also commissioned his projects; so Fintiri’s indelible legacies will always stand before anyone.

“The projects, which are equitably spread across the state, represent the value and meaning of democracy to Nigerians,” he said.