* AGF Sends S/Court Judgment To Governors, Acct/Generals, CBN

* 'Misuse FAAC Allocation', Go To Jail, AGF Fagbemi Warns LG Chairmen 



By  Chidinma Omar 


Beginning August, 2024, the Federal Government will stop paying the monthly allocations for Local Government Areas, LGAs to State/LG joint allocation account committee, JAAC as is currently, thus jumpstarting  the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment that ruled that allocation from the Federation accounts should be paid directly to the local governments’ account.


Dailyledger.com.ng reports that in a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court had affirmed the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s 774 LGAs. In their  ruling, the 7-man panel with Justice Lawal Garba presiding declares that sections 162, (4, 5 and 6) of the 1999 Constitution as amended did not provide for the existence of JAAC for both States and LGAs.


The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun on Thursday during an interactive session with journalists explained that the June allocation released to the States immediately after the Supreme Court verdict was as a result of the inability of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) to get the certified true copy of the apex  Court judgment


Edun said, “As far as the Supreme Court ruled on local governments, Mr. President, as a democrat believes in federalism, he believes in fiscal federalism, and he fought for it as a State governor. And so, what has come to pass now is a new regime, a new fiscal regime where FAAC allocation to the local government  will go directly to local governments.


“There is a committee composed by the federal honorable Attorney-General as well as representatives of the LGAs,  States, and of course, the Federal Government within the context of the Federation Account Allocation Committee. That is the practicality of moving to what the Supreme Court has said.


“There are impediments, practical impediments to immediate implementation, such as the fact that and the governments or governors have moved immediately to hold local government elections because the funds have to go to elected governments, but it’s also in practical terms.


“There was a FAAC  meeting just last week, but it could not get implemented because the judgment, the actual proceedings had not been handed down. They were not in the hands of the AGF for him to start implementing. So, what’s going to happen is on the presidency that believes in the rule of law, the Supreme Court judgment on local governments will be faithfully implemented.”


The FAAC committee comprises Commissioners of Finance from the 36 States of the federation; the AGF, representatives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC,  CBN and Customs


Dailyledger.com.ng gathered that a certified true copy of the Supreme Court judgment is currently in possession of the AGF and letters had been written to all  parties affected by the verdict as copies of the Supreme Court judgment were also attached to the letters


The official said the implication of this is that from August , FAAC allocation would be paid directly to local government account


“In a bid to enforce the Supreme Court judgment, all the parties concerned in carrying out that judgment have been written to, and a copy of the judgment has been attached to the letter. The implication of this is that from the next allocation committee meeting, payments will be made directly to the local government account.”


After the judgement,  the AGF  has threatened to prosecute local government chairmen and councillors who failed to use their FAAC allocations judiciously.


Fagbemi, who was speaking on Thursday at the 17th-Anniversary Annual Lecture of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) in Abuja, noted that the funds allocated to the local government must be used for development and governance.


He explained that going to court was the last resort for the Federal Government as some of the local government secretariats have been overrun with weeds.


“The money meant for the local government was not given to the local government, and if we had gone via amendment of the Constitution, whoever that Speaker was, who attempted to allow an amendment of the Constitution to give serious autonomy to the local government if he survived that term, he is not coming back. That one is sure.


“We now thought, this money is still coming from the Federation, and in a way, the money is meant for the local government; the Federation now says, States be our agents, hold this money for onward transmission to the LGAs


“There are two issues: the States were the agents of the Federation; when the money got to the States, they became trustees of the LGAs so either way, they are to do their utmost to ensure that the funds were not tampered with.


“But what do we have? If you go to some LGAs today, some have grown with weeds.


“At that stage, we felt it is no longer possible to persuade the States to follow the Constitution unless there is an order,” he said.


He noted that while the governors have immunity, the LG  council chairmen or councillors have no immunity adding that they have to choose between dealing with the funds of the local government as they like and risk  going to jail.


“Well, we have a situation on our hands, I know that it is still there; the conduct of elections is to be undertaken by the States.


“But the distinction is this: don’t forget, the governors have immunity, the LG council chairmen or councillors, they have no immunity, so they have to choose between dealing with the funds of the local government as they like and risk  going to jail. The choice is theirs.


“If they want to tamper with these funds and end up in jail, it is their choice. Or if they want to write their names in letters of gold, activities like construction or upgrading of roads must return to the LGAs.  They don’t all have to come to Abuja.


“If they stay at the local government, we will be able to reduce the level of insecurity that we have in Nigeria today. What obtains offshore is that the security agents are able to perform optimally because of information that comes to them from members of the public, and usually it is from the grassroots,” he said.