The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit has been requested by the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria to track down council cash and stop council chairmen from diverting them to state governors.
Additionally, ALGON pledged to make the most of its financial independence by addressing local issues like poor roads and insecurity while also making sure that residents of rural areas benefit more from democracy.
In recent months, Nigerians have become more vocal in their demands for local government autonomy. Stakeholders and President Bola Tinubu had endorsed their calls. Presently, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, which is under the Presidency, allots 52.68% of the nation’s monthly revenue to the Federal Government, 26.72% to the States, and 20.60% to Local Governments. The Federation Account Allocation Committee disburses these funds.
Lateef Fagbemi, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, filed a lawsuit in May before the Supreme Court on behalf of the Federal Government, requesting complete autonomy for local governments against the 36 state governors. The complaint argued that Nigeria as a federation is regulated by the 1999 Constitution and was based on 27 reasons.
In the meantime, the federal government’s lawsuit was met with opposition from the attorneys general of the 36 states.
On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court did, however, rule that state governors’ possession of monies intended for local government administrations was illegal. The seventy-four local government councils around the nation ought to handle their own financial management, according to the panel’s ruling, which was given by Justice Emmanuel Agim.
The President of NULGE, Akeem Ambali, defended the Supreme Court’s decision and issued a warning against disregarding it in an interview with our correspondent on Friday.
The head of NULGE demanded that NFIU regulations be strictly followed, saying that doing so would aid in preventing money diversion.
Ambali stated that Nigerians are pleased with the historic ruling of the Supreme Court and that the only people who would be unhappy with the decision are those who had embezzled these monies and those who are hostile to democratic ideals.
He said, “The whole country is happy with the judgement of the Supreme Court. It is only looters of local government funds and unpatriotic people that will not be happy.
“What we have seen yesterday is constitutional democracy at play. Funds were appropriated and allocated to local governments. Why must it be hijacked along the line? That is why we have a high rate of poverty, frustration, insecurity, and joblessness across the country.
“We (NULGE) believe that once local government is free, council chairmen will be able to touch the lives of average workers and the masses, and change things for good. That’s our impression about it.”
He bemoaned the years of illicit diversion and misuse of local government finances, but emphasized that the ruling would contribute to the reform of third-tier government control.
“Ordinarily, the allocation for local governments has been cornered, diverted, and misapplied over time. What I believe is that once they have access to the allocation, they will be able to provide the infrastructure for the people. They will be able to provide responsive governance to their communities, and pay the minimum wage conveniently.
“We are aware that since the removal of fuel subsidy, local government allocation on the pages of paper has been increased by over 100 per cent by the state and federal governments. So, there is no fear about that.”
He also emphasized that local government chairmen cannot divert funds to state governors if they follow NFIU principles. “Whoever wants to tamper with the funds of the local government should prepare to go to jail,” he declared.
In addition to their immunity, governors are involved since local governments receive funding through them. No governor will urge the chairmen to reroute the money to them now that it is going directly to the local government account. It will be challenging once they are aware of the NFIU guidelines.
Ambali went on to denounce the illegality of caretaker committees managing local governments, noting that governors are no longer able to remove democratically elected local officials as a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
He said, “Caretaker committees have been outlawed. The caretaker government in Nigeria is illegal, it has been condemned. Whoever practises it is at their peril. The Supreme Court, the biggest legal institution in Nigeria, the apex of the judicial system and adjudication has decided. So nobody will do anything and the implementation is with immediate effect. It has also empowered the Federal Government not to release allocation to the state to run caretaker or illegal governments that are not.
“What has been crippling political democracy and independence at the local government level is a result of tenure insecurity, because of the absolute power of governors to remove, sack, and suspend the democratically elected local government officials. So in Nigeria now, no governor has the power to remove, suspend, impeach or dissolve the democratically elected local government system.
“Once they have access to their funds, they are responsible to the people and their tenure has been secured. What is the fear again? And don’t forget that we have the Freedom of Information Bill that is operational now. We are in the era of social media and we have the empowerment of whistleblowers. And again, NULGE will not go back to sleep, we will be partnering with the anti-corruption agencies. So there is nothing to fear.
“To track the funds is easy. Already it is being tracked but the only thing is that what they are doing is to keep the funds in dark accounts whereby it will not be accessible. It is easy for the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and anti-corruption agency to track funds that are paid to local government accounts through the central bank. And don’t forget that we have the legislative arm at the local government level empowered to carry out oversight functions on local government expenditures. We have also said that the Federal Account Allocation Committee must publish the daily monthly allocation to every local government. So with all these, there are in-built control mechanisms put in place. It is no longer business as usual like before.”
Aminu Muazu-Maifata, the National President of ALGON, also talked with Saturday PUNCH and expressed the association’s gratitude and happiness with the Supreme Court’s decision.
He stated that ALGON will convene the following week to discuss the ruling, and he promised that council chairmen will make the most of this historic Supreme Court decision to change local governance and not let Nigerians down.
He said, “I assure Nigerians that we won’t disappoint them. We will meet their expectations. By next week, we will call a NEC meeting, which will be held between the 18th and 19th of this month. All the 36 state ALGON chairmen and the FCT chairman will be at the meeting. We will state our positions and expectations on this verdict. Before then, we might have gotten the full details of the judgement. That will give us a good opportunity to explain the verdict and come out with good positions.
“We know the mood of the masses and that of the majority of Nigerians on this issue. We will know how to persuade our principals on it. We are not going to face any challenge from the governors because of the way we are going to approach the whole issue and the way we are going to relate with them.”
Additionally, Muazu-Maifata indicated that the council chairmen would take advantage of their newfound financial independence to address the dearth of amenities at the local level.
“We will use the opportunity to address the lack of roads and basic amenities at the local government level. We need to put our house in order so that we can face the challenges and move our people forward to enjoy more dividends of democracy, especially security.
“In the next four years, the story would have changed for the local governments, most especially those states that are not enjoying liberty. I am sure the lawyers of the governors administering local government with caretaker committees will advise them. I am sure the governors will comply. They are leaders, so they will have to lead by example.”
The ruling of the Supreme Court was also welcomed by the All Progressives Congress in Anambra State, which described it as a liberation for the state’s citizens. Anambra State has experienced more “systematic pilferage” of local government funds than any other state in Nigeria over the past 25 years, according to a statement released by the APC on Friday and signed by State Publicity Secretary Okelo Madukaife.
He said, “No other state has suffered under the system of systematic pilferage of local government funds, turned into a high art under the serial interventions of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, like Anambra.
“For 25 years since 1999, Zik’s own state has not had the opportunity to elect its own (local government) officials, except in December 2013, to cover the two-year period between 2014 and 2016 when autocracy returned.”
