The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has read a riot act to local government council officials and other stakeholders with regards to local government funds, vowing to deal with any erring council officials found wanting of tampering with funds.Mid this year, specifically in July, the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgement and affirmed the financial autonomy of local governments.
Fagbemi while speaking at a conference for judiciary correspondents on Thursday in Abuja, gave the warning.According to the AGF, grassroots governance has “suffered a lot” in the past, but “life will come back to the local governments” if the ruling on local government autonomy is implemented. “Long-term neglect has caused enough suffering for people at the grassroots level. The goal of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s (GCFR) administration is to make up for historical wrongs and elevate the nation in the eyes of the international community. Any attempt to undermine the endeavour will therefore be met with force and treated accordingly.”
Fagbemi reminded the audience that local government chairmen and councillors should remember that the governors enjoy immunity while they (LG officials) do not.“They have to choose between dealing with the funds of the local government as they like and risking going to jail. The choice is absolutely theirs. If they want to tamper with the funds and end up in jail, it is their choice, or if they want to write their names in letters of gold, activities like the construction or upgrading of roads, schools, hospitals, etc., must return to the local governments. Life must come back to the local governments!”
The Supreme Court judgement affirmed the financial autonomy of local governments. That verdict stopped governors from controlling local government funds. It also mandated the AGF to pay local government allocations directly to their accounts in a move aimed at strengthening local government autonomy across the country.
