The federal government has threatened to initiate criminal charges against elected officials who would connive with state governors to corner the allocations meant for the 774 local government areas in the country.
The attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, stated this yesterday at the 2024 Annual General Conference of the Abuja Chapter of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents.
Recall that a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court had, on July 11, 2024, delivered a judgment affirming the financial autonomy of the 774 local government areas in the country and stopping governors from further control of funds meant for the councils.
The court also directed the accountant general of the federation to pay local government allocations directly to their accounts, as it declared the non-remittance of funds by the 36 states unconstitutional.
The judgement was sequel to the suit brought by the federal government to strengthen the independence of local governments in the country.
Although the federal government was yet to remit funds directly to the councils five months after the verdict was passed, Fagbemi said the diversion of local government funds by governors is an impeachable offence.
He said the federal government was aware that some governors had planted their loyalists in the various councils through shambolic elections.
He said the federal government would not interfere with the council polls but would charge elected officials to court should they mismanage funds released to them from the federation account.
“It does not give anybody any joy to drag any of the sub-nationals to court, whether the High Court, Court of Appeal, or Supreme Court.
“But you must also take cognisance of the fact that the constitution is there to attend to any concern expressed by anybody or claim of right.”
“Some states have, by their various illegal actions, starved local government councils to the extent that most of them cannot exercise their constitutional powers or perform their statutory functions.
“This is one type of government inhumanity to another type of government,” he said.
“The situation was also such that even when the secretariat needed to buy stationeries, you had to notify the governor in advance that you want to spend your money. And we have listened to such funny arguments before and after the judgment, to the effect that, oh, they are not matured enough. I said, how better are you? Are you any better? Leave them.
“And we have been drumming this into the ears of the local government officials that look, the governors have immunity, but you don’t have.
“So, it is very easy for you to get yourself to Kuje or other prisons spread across Nigeria,” Fgbemi said.
The attorney general further said with local government areas granted the autonomy promised by the constitution, there would be a more independent and accountable system, encouraging greater public participation in political processes.
He explained that the autonomy would lead to more effective governance at the grassroots level, empowering citizens to actively shape the development of their communities and ensuring that local government councils fulfil their constitutional duties without undue influence from state governors.
“It is expected that having become divorced from the financial dependency on the state’s government, more Nigerians will begin to get involved in grassroots politics to ensure effective governance from the ground up,” he added.
He cautioned local government chairmen against mismanaging or looting public funds, adding that the autonomy granted to local government areas by the Supreme Court is meant to empower the grassroots and not for diverting public funds for private use.
