Anita Ogona
The Federal Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has threatened to prosecute council chairmen found wanting in misusing Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Fagbemi (SAN), made this known on Thursday.
Recall that the Supreme Court ruled on July 11, ruled that the Federal Government should henceforth pay allocations directly to local government councils from the federation account.
The apex court also ordered the federal government to withhold allocations of LGs governed by unelected officials appointed by the governor.
Fagbemi, at the 17th-anniversary annual lecture event of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria in Abuja, said none of the chairmen have immunity and would be jailed if they tamper with the funds meant for the development of their areas.
He said, “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 local government council chairmen or councilors, they have no immunity, so they have to choose between dealing with the funds of the local government as they like and risking going to jail. The choice is theirs (LG chairmen).
“If they want to tamper with these funds and end up in jail, it is their choice. If they want to write their names in letters of gold, activities like construction or road upgrades must be returned to the local government. 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.”
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