EFCC to track funds as LG autonomy begins November
CHIGOZIE AMADI
Barring any last-minute resistance from state governors, direct payment of statutory allocations to Local Government Areas will kick in by November 2024, The PUNCH reports.
The National President, National Union of Local Government Employees, Hakeem Ambali, disclosed the latest information during an exclusive interview with one of our correspondents on Sunday.
This was as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission assured of its commitment to diligently monitoring and tracking expenditures of the 774 LG chairmen from the revenue disbursement allocated from the Federal Government every month.
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.
In May, the Federal Government, represented by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, filed a lawsuit to challenge the governors’ authority to receive and withhold federal allocations meant for Local Government Areas.
The suit sought to prevent state governors from unilaterally dissolving democratically elected local government councils and establishing caretaker committees.
The AGF argued that the constitution mandated 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, concluded and submitted its assignment on October 13.
Last Tuesday, findings by The PUNCH showed that no fewer than 164 LGS in eight states were yet to conduct elections and may have their federal allocations seized by the Federal Government, in line with the court ruling.
But giving the latest update on Sunday, the NULGE Chairman stated that the issue has been resolved, and payment is now scheduled to commence at the November Federal Accounts Allocation Committee distribution.
Ambali 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.
“So, we don’t want any loophole at all. We believe that by November, the whole thing will come into full effect.”
He further stated that the Ministry of Budget and National Planning has organized a stakeholder meeting to facilitate the smooth implementation of the policy.
“Last week, we, the stakeholders, had technical sessions with the minister of budget and national planning from Monday to Wednesday. o we are very sure that by November, the whole thing will be implemented,” he noted.
The PUNCH reports that NULGE and some other unions had written the presidency demanding that allocations not be paid to states that have failed to implement LG autonomy.
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, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent on Sunday, 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.
Olukoyede said, “The wisdom of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), in initiating the action cannot be faulted.
“Local government operations have largely been crippled in the country due to the overbearing influence of state governments.
“The charges recently filed by the commission against the former governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, have to do with an alleged theft of billions of local government funds.
“So, local governments having direct access to their funds may improve developmental activities at the third tier of government and reduce rural poverty.
“We are fully prepared to ensure accountability in the use of local government funds. One of the reasons that informed the decision to establish additional zonal directorates by the commission is the need to improve the commission’s presence and coverage of the country.
“We’ll work closely with stakeholders in tracking the budget performance of the councils, to ensure that funds appropriated are used for specified purposes and those who violate the law will be brought to justice.”
Govs delaying implementation
Meanwhile, NULGE President, Edo State, Daudu Clifford, has said the implementation of the payment to LG accounts will take off in November.
He said the state governors had asked for three months to begin the implementation of the payment, which will elapse at the end of October.
He said, “They have not started the implementation actually. The governors are delaying the implementation because they asked for three months before its commencement which expires at the end of this month.
“Let us wait the end of November and see if the allocation will be paid directly to the account of the local government.
“The supreme Court judgement is clear. If for instance money gets to me as the local government chairman and I decide to hand it over to the state government, I am going to be held responsible for that.
“The attempt by the governors to lure the local government chairmen to release the funds to them will be at the peril of chairmen.”
Also, the National President, Association of Local Government in Nigeria, Aminu Kaita, confirmed that the direct disbursement of allocations to local government councils from the Federation Account was still in progress.
Kaita told The PUNCH, “We are working on it. The deadline is October, and it has not passed yet. So, we are working on that.”
An official of Sokoto State ALGON, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he couldn’t confirm if the payment was directly to the LGs or to the state government joint allocation account.
The official further said the leadership of the association would make it known to the public whatever the situation was at the appropriate time.
It was also learnt that LGs in Zamfara State were yet to receive their monthly allocation directly from the federation account, while NULGE officials on Kano, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states declined comments on the issue.
