The Chairman, Association of Local Government Council Chairmen of Nigeria (ALGON) Kwara State chapter, Alhaji Lateef Okandeji, at the weekend canvassed for the new federal revenue allocation formula in favour of the 774 councils in the country.

This, he said, would go a long way in addressing various challenges at the local government leve since the local government councils are the closet government to the people at the grassroots. Okandeji who is also the chairman of Ilorin-East local government council, made the appeal in Ilorin while speaking with journalists on the state of the nation.

According to him, "the present revenue formula in favour of the federal government is too much and it has continued to have a serious toll on the people of the grassroots in the country." He said: "There is urgent need to review the formula in favour of the local government councils nationwide so as to assist them to have enough funds to bring more dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of the rural populace."

Okandeji added that the need for the people of the grassroots to have a good governance should be accompanied with much revenue from the federation account, stressing that, the current paucity of funds at the various tiers of government especially at the local government councils level has affected the day to day administration of the local government councils nationwide. On the relationship existing between the council chairmen and the state government, the chairman of the ALGON described it as that of an elder and younger brother of the same mother.