By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has vowed to keep tabs on the financial obligations of the 774 LGs across the country by diligently tracking their expenditures from the revenue disbursement allocated from the Federal Government every month.
This is as there are indications that the federal government will start direct payments of statutory allocations to local government accounts across the federation by November 1
The National President, National Union of Local Government Employees, Hakeem Ambali, confirmed this in an Interview with journalists on Sunday.
The latest development marks a significant turning point in the implementation of LG autonomy as mandated by the Supreme Court and ahead of the October 31st deadline set for states to conduct LG elections.
Recall that in May, the Federal Government, represented by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, filed a lawsuit challenging governors’ authority to receive and withhold federal allocations meant for Local Government Councils.
The chief reason for the suit was, according to the federal government , to protect local government councils from the overbearing influence of governors which is reflected in the arbitrary way state governors allegedly dissolve democratically elected chairmen and their councillors and establish caretaker committee.
The AGF had argued that the constitution recognized only a democratically elected local government system and did not allow alternative governance structures.
The Supreme Court, on July 11, 2024, gave a landmark judgment affirming the financial autonomy of the 774 LGs in the country and ruled that governors could no longer control funds meant for the councils.
The seven-member Supreme Court panel, led by Justice Garba Lawal, ruled that it was illegal and unconstitutional for governors to manage and withhold LG funds.
The apex court also directed the Accountant-General of the Federation to pay LG allocations directly to their accounts, as it declared the non-remittance of funds by the 36 states unconstitutional.
But this was further delayed by a three-month moratorium by the Federal Government over concerns arising from its impact on salary payments and operational viability.
Also, on August 20, the Federal Government instituted a 10-member inter-ministerial committee to implement the Supreme Court’s ruling on local government autonomy.
The committee members include the Minister of Finance & Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Attorney General of the Federation & Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN; Minister of Budget & Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu; Accountant-General of the Federation; Oluwatoyin Madein and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso.
Others are the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mrs Lydia Jafiya, the Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation & Fiscal Commission, Mohammed Shehu, and representatives of state governors and the local governments.
The committee’s primary goal is to ensure that local governments are granted full autonomy, allowing them to function effectively without interference from state governments.
The panel, headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, had concluded and submitted its assignment on October 13.
In a bid to meet the condition for autonomy and make their administrations independent of state governments’ Influences, close to thirty states have conducted elections into their local councils.
Meanwhile, at least eight states, comprising 164 LGs, were yet to conduct elections as of Tuesday.
This local governments may have their allocations withheld by the Federal Government in line with the court ruling.
Recall that NULGE and some other unions had written the presidency demanding that allocations not be paid to states that have failed to implement LG autonom
But giving the latest update on Sunday, the NULGE Chairman stated that the states which have conducted elections into local councils’ seats of power will have their allocations at end of November.
Ambali noted that the issue has been resolved, and payment is now scheduled to commence at the November Federal Accounts Allocation Committee distribution.
He said, “On the issue of the allocation, we want to be very careful and ensure that everything is well put into place so that there won’t be any form of issues.
“We are aware that governors are also trying to have their way. See what is going on in Abia state for instance.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has said the anti-graft agency would monitor the budget performance of all the local governments in the country.
Olukoyede, in an interview published in the commission’s magazine, stated that the EFCC would monitor the budget performances of all the local governments in the country.
He lamented the overbearing influence of state governments on the resources of the local governments.
The EFCC boss said the commission had expanded its presence and coverage across the country.
He vowed that any local government official who misappropriated funds would be apprehended and prosecuted.
