The federal government has been charged to increase transparency in the allocation of income among the nation’s federal, state, and municipal governments by the Governors’ Forum of the Peoples Democratic Party.
This was one of the many decisions made at the forum’s monthly meeting, which happened on Friday in Taraba State, Jalingo.
The governors voiced their concerns over the Federal Government’s ambiguous distinction between federal revenue and money that accrues to the federation in a communiqué read by the forum chairman and governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed.
The forum asked for strict adherence to instructions contained in the Section 162 of the Constitution, which puts out the guidelines for revenue distribution among the three tiers of government, by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Accountant General of the Federation.
The governors accused the federation’s accountant general of behaving in a way that suggested partiality towards the federal government.
The forum stood for the division of the roles of the Accountant General of the Federal Government and the Accountant General of the Federation in a bid to promote accountability in the nation’s finances.
They opined that this would make it more likely that the federation’s earnings would be handled independently and in accordance with the terms of the constitution.
“The forum notes with concern, the refusal of the Federal Government to distinguish between the Federal Government of Nigeria’s revenue and revenue accruing to the federation which must be allocated in accordance with extant laws.
“We call on the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Accountant General of the Federation to be more transparent in obeying the law, particularly Section 162 (1) (2) (3). And equally, call on the Accountant General of the Federation to stop behaving like the Accountant General of the Federal Government and to exercise her role in line with the constitution.
“We call for the separation of the office of the Accountant General of the Federation and that of the Accountant General of the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the PDP governors said.
They further expressed their relief that the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations have come to a conclusion and commended the PDP governors for their controlled management of the situation, which kept hoodlums from hijacking the demonstrations.
The forum gave its condolences to the families of those who had died during the cause of the protest, while highlighting the significance of nonviolent protests as a fundamental right of citizens. It also urged the federal government to ensure that individuals who were arrested during the protests are tried fairly and promptly.
The forum condemned the Federal Government’s management of the protests and asserted that it resorted to blackmail rather than dealing with the underlying social and economic problems.
It urged President Bola Tinubu to stop his aides from unfairly singling out state governments for blame games.
Regarding the ongoing political standoff in Rivers State, where court judgements have affected the results of PDP congresses, the forum emphasised its backing for the state’s governor, Siminalayi Fubura, and requested that the PDP National Working Committee reconvene the congresses in order to reinstate the governor as the party’s legitimate leader.
Speaking about the upcoming Edo State governorship election, the forum charges President Tinubu to maintain his impartiality and avoid making remarks that can be interpreted as an attempt to sway the results in his party’s favour.
This comes even as they criticised and condemned what they saw to be police intimidation of PDP supporters on a systematic basis in Edo State before the governorship election scheduled for September 21.
