Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately withhold federal allocations to states that have failed or refused to conduct credible local government elections.
SERAP in a statement said the President should direct Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Olawale Edun, to ensure that any allocations from the Federation Account is paid only to democratically elected local government councils and no other body or institution.
SERAP also urged the President to provide details of the number of local government councils that have directly received federal allocations and whether the councils are democratically elected, as provided for by the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and ordered by the Supreme Court in its judgment of 11 July 2024.
SERAP urged him to promptly invite the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to jointly track and monitor the spending of FAAC allocations by democratically elected local government councils across the country.
It said: “Your government has the obligation to enforce the Nigerian Constitution and to prevent public wrong, including by state governors.
“A democratically elected local government council does not and should not exist at the pleasure, whims and caprice of governors or their ‘political godfathers.
“Your government also has the constitutional obligation to ensure accountability for the spending of federal allocations and immediate compliance with the judgment by the Supreme Court and the rule of law.
“Local government councils are entitled to a direct payment from the Federation Account to promote good governance, people’s welfare and development of local government areas across the country.
“Where the rule of law reigns, political expediency ought to be sacrificed on the altar of the rule of law so as to guarantee the continued existence of institutions created to promote social values of liberty, orderly conduct and development.
“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.
“It will be entirely consistent with the rule of law to immediately withhold federal allocations to states that have failed and/refused to conduct local government elections and to ensure that any allocations from the Federation Account are paid only to democratically elected councils and no other body or institution.
“According to our information, the Supreme Court of Nigeria recently ordered the Federal Government to forthwith directly pay funds in the Federation Account only to democratically elected local government councils and no other body or institution.
“The court also ordered the 36 state governors to ‘ensure democratic governance at the local government level.
“The court ruled that state governors have no power to dissolve democratically elected local government councils within their states and replace the councils with caretaker committees. The court also made ‘an order of immediate compliance by states with the terms of this judgment.
“According to our information, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu recently stated that ‘the conduct of Local Government elections in virtually all the States of the Federation has become mere coronation of candidates of the ruling parties. It is time to stop the coronation and conduct proper elections.’
“SERAP is concerned that local government elections in several states are susceptible to manipulation by governors and other actors.
“SERAP is concerned that several state governors are failing to organize local government council elections, contrary to section 7(1) of the Nigerian Constitution.
“SERAP is also concerned about the allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the spending by governors of federal allocations meant for the local government councils in their states. Trillions of FAAC allocations received by Nigeria’s 36 states have allegedly gone down the drain.
“The resulting human costs directly threaten the human rights of socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians.
“Despite the increased allocation from FAAC, millions of residents in several states continue to face extreme poverty and lack access to basic public goods and services.
“The reported removal of petrol subsidy and the flotation of the naira by the Federal Government has translated into increased FAAC allocations to states and the FCT. However, there is no corresponding improvement in the security and welfare of millions of Nigerians.
“SERAP notes that Section 162(3)(5) of the Nigerian Constitution provides that the amount standing to the credit of local government councils in the Federation Account shall be distributed to them and be paid directly to them.
“State governors have no power to keep, control, manage or disburse in any manner allocations from the Federation Account to local government councils.
“By the terms of the Supreme Court judgment, the 36 state governors are restrained from further collecting, receiving, spending or tampering with local government council funds from the Federation Account for the benefit of local government councils.
“SERAP notes that section 165 of the Nigerian Constitution and the Allocation of Revenue Act No.1 1982, stipulate that the revenues generated by the government should be credited into the federation account and disbursed monthly among the federal government, states and local governments.
“SERAP notes that former president Muhammadu Buhari had in December 2022 stated that, ‘If the money from the Federation Account to the State is about N100m, N50m will be sent to the chairman but he will sign that he received N100 million. The chairman will pocket the balance and share it with whoever he wants to share it with.
“According to Buhari, ‘If the money from the Federation Account to the State is about N100 million, N50 million will be sent to the chairman but he will sign that he received N100 million. The chairman will pocket the balance and share it with whoever he wants to share it with.
“The 36 states in Nigeria and the federal capital territory, Abuja, have reportedly collected over N40 trillion federal allocations meant for the 774 local governments areas in the country and FCT.
“The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursed to states N225.21 billion federal allocations meant for local governments in November 2023 alone. States also collected N258,810,449,711.47 federal allocations meant for local government areas in December 2023.”
