Revealed: Govs, LG chairmen allegedly enter deals to bypass order on council funds

Some governors in the 36 states of the federation may allegedly be getting more desperate to share in the monthly allocation to local governments if revelations by some sources, including a council chairman and a party candidate, are anything to go by.

Findings by The Punch on Sunday, October 13, indicate that some governors have devised means to continue cornering council funds through secret oath-taking deals and agreements with elected chairmen.

Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s led federal government set up a 10-member committee to enforce the Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to local governments in Nigeria.

The panel, headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, had concluded its assignment and would submit its report any moment from Monday, October 14.

Ebonyi, Bauchi, Kebi, Oyo, Kwara, Imo, Enugu, Sokoto, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Benue, and Rivers are the states that have conducted LG elections so far.

The president of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ambali Olatunji, disclosed that the federal government would commence direct payment of allocations into the accounts of each LG by the end of October.

An elected council chairman in one of the South-West states told The Punch that he was compelled to pledge allegiance and give his state governor access to the funds all the time.

The chairman who pleaded anonymity said he and his colleagues repledged their loyalty to the governor after the Supreme Court verdict.

He said:

A senior media officer in the same state told Sunday PUNCH that part of the agreement the chairmen had with the governor was continuous remittance of their funds to a dedicated state account.

Also, a local government chairmanship candidate in one of the southern states said that he and his colleagues took an oath to follow their governor’s directive on LG funds before they were cleared to be the candidates of the party.

Read more about LG autonomy here:

In another development, TimesNow.com.ng reported that the Senate urged states to comply with the Supreme Court ruling granting financial autonomy to the 774 local governments across the country.

The president of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Wednesday, also pledged to amend the constitution to fully empower local governments.

This decision was announced by the deputy senate president, Jibril Barau, after a closed-door meeting on Wednesday following attempts by some state governments to undermine the apex court judgement.

Source: TimesNow.com.ng

Spread this news

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Prove your humanity: 1   +   5   =