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

• Some state governors have reportedly entered into agreements and deals with elected council chairmen to maintain control over local government funds
• Reports making the rounds on Sunday, October 13, disclosed that elected council chairmen have allegedly pledged loyalty to their governors, agreeing to remit LG funds to state accounts
• This is after the federal government on August 20 set up a 10-member inter-ministerial committee to implement the court’s ruling on local governments (LG) financial autonomy

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

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.

State governor reportedly move to access LG funds. Photo credit: Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq
Source: Facebook

LG autonomy: Tinubu sets up committee to enforce Supreme Court ruling

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 Punch reported that that 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.

LG autonomy: LG chairmen gives state govs access to funds

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:

“After the Supreme Court judgment, we met the governor and pledged our allegiance to him. We told him we would always abide by his directive on our LG funds. I cannot say we did that voluntarily; something propelled us to do it. Maybe I wouldn’t be the local government chairman now if I didn’t pledge because that was before our election. You should understand beyond what I have 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.

“I am privy to their arrangement. The chairmen were asked to pledge allegiance that they would continue to remit money to the state when the direct allocation commences,” he added.

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.

“We are to follow the governor’s directive on local government funds; that was our pledge, and I don’t think it is bad,” he told The Punch.

At least five other chairmen contacted by The Punch in the North-East, declined to comment on the matter.

Read more about LG autonomy here:

• LG autonomy: FG, governors finally reach 3-month agreement
• “Chairmen will still behave like this”: Shehu Sani reacts to S'Court’s ruling on LG autonomy
• Supreme court judgment: List of things LG funds are constitutionally meant for
• LG autonomy: List of governors rushing to hold council elections after Supreme Court ruling

LG autonomy: Senate backs Supreme Court ruling

In another development, Legit.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.

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Source: Legit.ng