Nigeria is looking for improved governance and better service delivery and wants to strengthen the local government system to ensure that development reaches people at the grassroots level, according to Nigerian Vice President HE Mohammed Namadi Sambo.

HE Sambo was responding to members of the CLGF Board who met with him on 10 June in Abuja to brief him on the local government events taking place from 10-13 June that highlight the role of local government in development and the promotion of local democracy in Nigeria, West Africa and the wider Commonwealth. Vice President Sambo said he was delighted to receive members of CLGF Board on behalf of the President and said that the government of Nigeria appreciated its membership of CLGF and the values for which CLGF is known including decentralisation and local democracy. He said that the Government of Nigeria is committed to improving democracy at all levels of government and commended CLGF’s work towards putting local government at the centre of development. He said that he looks forward to working towards strengthening local government capacity and structures, especially its input into the post-2015 development agenda and local government contributing to meeting security challenges in various countries. He said that Nigeria is looking for improved governance and service delivery and wants to strengthen the local government system to ensure that development reaches people at the grassroots level. “I therefore appreciate hosting these meetings in Abuja and am looking forward to seeing the outcomes which we will give serious consideration to.” he said.

CLGF Chairperson Mayor Lawrence Yule thanked the Vice President and the government of Nigeria for hosting the events and conveyed the greetings and best wishes of the whole CLGF Board. Mayor Yule noted the recent incorporation of the CLGF Aberdeen principles on local democracy and good governance into the Commonwealth Charter which has been endorsed by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their meeting in 2013 and the growing partnership between CLGF and the Commonwealth Secretariat. He said that as a Commonwealth Associated Organisation leading on local government, he hopes that the government of Nigeria and other Commonwealth governments will support the move for formal recognition to enable CLGF and other AOs to enable them to better interact with CHOGM and other Commonwealth structures, to become implementing agencies for technical and other support, and access Commonwealth resources directly. He said that he hopes that this could be put in place in time for endorsement at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta in 2015..

Minister Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Nigeria, and other members of the CLGF Board including Vice-chairperson Cllr Phip McPhee and Secretary-General Carl Wright also attended the meeting. 

CLGF is holding its annual Board meeting in Abuja on 12-13 June, attended by local government leaders and ministers from across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and the Pacific. Prior to that there will be a national conference held in cooperation with UNDP on Local governance and local development in Nigeria post-2015 on 11 June, which will be opened by Minister Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs.

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