Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno has denied tampering with allocations meant for Local Government Areas in his State.
The Governor the denial in the face of the legal battle between the Federal Government and the State Governors over Local Government autonomy.
Speaking on the accusation that Governors always tamper with allocations to the Local Councils in country, Eno said, he was interested in knowing what Local Councils do with their money.
“I stand here to say I have not interfered with their businesses. As their money comes, it goes to them. But we also want to know what they do with the money, that is the only thing we do.”
The Governor made this disclosure at Uyo Township Stadium while delivering his first-anniversary speech last week.
He said, “The chairperson of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, is here. But they’ve been doing their work. We just ensured we worked with them to ensure they deliver on their mandate.”
Recall that funds meant for Local Government Councils in the Federation Account are channeled to them via joint account with the States.
This ensures that the State Governors have controlling powers over Local Governments funds. They determine the amount of money that should be released to the Local Councils in their States.
The practice, which has existed for decades, has prevented Local Governments from functioning as an independent tier of government. This, therefore, has triggered calls for Local Government autonomy.
Recall that the Federal Government through the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Fagbemi has taken the States Governors to the Supreme Court. The suit is seeking the enforcement of full autonomy for the 774 Local Government Areas in the country.
But to exonerate himself from the wrong doing, Governor Eno claimed he allows Local Governments to run on their own.
He said, “Their money goes to them directly.”
“We just ensure we work with them, to make sure they deliver on their mandate,” he added.
The FG is trying to ensure that the independence of the Local Governments as enshrined in the Constitution is allowed to flourish.
Therefore, the Federal Government has dragged the State Governors to the Supreme Court.
The plaintiff in the suit – the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is praying the court to make an order permitting funds standing in credits of Local Governments to be paid to them directly from the Federation Account. In line with the provisions of the Constitution as against the “unlawful” Joint Accounts created by the State Governors.
FG is asking the court to issue an order preventing State Governors from embarking on unilateral, arbitrary, and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected officials at the Local Government Areas.
Recall that some States in the country, including Akwa Ibom, have not conducted Local Government election in a long time. What they do is at the expiration of the tenure of the elected council officials, they set up Caretaker Committees. This unconstitutional bodies oversee the affairs of the Councils.
source: Premium Times
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