The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is secretly investigating the 774 local government chairmen across the country over their management and spending of public funds since the councils gained financial autonomy, The PUNCH has learnt.
The investigation, which is being handled by the commission’s zonal directorates, is aimed at determining whether the councils have been accountable in the management of their allocations.
It was further gathered that the anti-graft agency is particularly interested in assessing how the chairmen have managed the funds allocated to their respective councils, their capacity to administer public resources and the extent to which the autonomy has improved service delivery.
An official of a state Ministry of Local Government had earlier confirmed the development to our correspondent, saying all the local government chairmen in the state were being investigated by the anti-graft agency.
“All the local government chairmen in the state are currently being probed by EFCC over their spending,” the official said.
However, sources within the EFCC confirmed that the investigation was ongoing across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, stressing that the exercise was being conducted discreetly.
One of the sources said the commission wanted to establish whether the councils had demonstrated accountability and managerial competence since the Supreme Court judgment granting them financial autonomy.
The source said, “All the local governments across the country are being investigated. It’s discreetly being done. You know the Supreme Court ruling granted them financial autonomy. We want to know whether they are accountable.
Make PUNCH part of your everyday experience.
Add us to your Preferred Sources
“We want to see their definite impact on the economy as a result of the financial autonomy that has been granted them. We want to see whether they have the necessary managerial skills, and whether their integrity quotient is high.
“We want to see comparatively what was existing before the autonomy and what is existing now and whether there has been development. It is not about the state you mentioned alone; it is across the country. All the EFCC zonal offices are handling the investigation secretly.”
The investigation comes more than two years after the Supreme Court affirmed the financial autonomy of the 774 local government areas in the country and barred state governors from controlling funds meant for the councils.
In May 2024, the Federal Government, through the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, instituted a suit at the Supreme Court challenging the governors’ control of local government allocations.
The suit sought to stop governors from dissolving democratically elected local government councils and replacing them with caretaker committees, as well as preventing them from receiving and withholding funds allocated to the councils.
The Attorney-General argued that the 1999 Constitution provided for a democratically elected local government system and did not recognise caretaker committees as a substitute for elected councils.
On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment, ruled in favour of local government financial autonomy, declaring it unconstitutional for state governors to control or withhold allocations meant for the councils.
The seven-member panel, led by Justice Garba Lawal, also directed the Accountant-General of the Federation to pay allocations directly to the accounts of the local governments.
The judgment was expected to strengthen governance at the grassroots by allowing elected council officials to independently manage their finances and implement development projects without interference from state governments.
However, concerns over accountability and the management of the funds prompted the EFCC to announce plans to monitor the spending of the councils.
In October 2024, the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, said the commission would monitor the budget performance of all local governments to ensure that allocations were spent on projects and programmes for which they were approved.
Olukoyede, who spoke in an interview published in the commission’s magazine, said the agency was prepared to work with relevant stakeholders to track the councils’ expenditure and prosecute officials found to have violated the law.
He also identified the establishment of additional zonal directorates as part of efforts to strengthen the commission’s presence and improve its capacity to monitor public funds across the country.
He said, “We are fully prepared to ensure accountability in the use of local government funds. One of the reasons that informed the decision to establish additional zonal directorates by the commission is the need to improve the commission’s presence and coverage of the country.
“We’ll work closely with stakeholders in tracking the budget performance of the councils, to ensure that funds appropriated are used for specified purposes and those who violate the law will be brought to justice.”
Efforts to get the EFCC’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, proved abortive at the time of filing this report on Monday night.
(Punch)
