The Federal Government, on Thursday, threatened to imprison Local Government Area (LGA) chairmen who tamper with Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, made the announcement on Thursday at the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria’s 17th annual lecture event in Abuja.
He stated that none of the chairmen have immunity and will be imprisoned if they tamper with funds designated for the development of their areas.
Fagbemi stated, “We have a situation on our hands; I know that it is still there; the conduct of elections must be done by the states.”
“But the distinction is this: don’t forget, the governors have immunity, the local government council chairmen or councillors, 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).
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“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.”
According to the Minister, the Federal Government opted to use the Supreme Court to achieve LG autonomy due to the challenges it will face at State Assemblies, stressing that any Speaker who would have supported the cause will not survive the tenure or lose his reelection.
The Minister stated that for over two decades, local government administration in the country has been in comatose with state governments not remitting funds meant for the local governments.
