The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is secretly investigating the 774 local government chairmen across Nigeria over their management and spending of public funds, an investigation by The PUNCH has revealed.
The probe, being conducted by the EFCC’s zonal directorates, covers the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. It is focused on determining whether the councils have properly managed their allocations since gaining financial autonomy.
Findings by The PUNCH showed that the commission is examining how the chairmen have spent funds allocated to their councils, their capacity to manage public resources and the impact of financial autonomy on service delivery.
An official of a state Ministry of Local Government told The PUNCH that all the chairmen in the state were being investigated.
“All the local government chairmen in the state are currently being probed by EFCC over their spending,” the official said.
Sources within the EFCC, who confirmed the nationwide investigation to The PUNCH, said the exercise was being conducted discreetly.
For all breaking news and latest gist:
👉 JOIN GISTSMATE WHATSAPP CHANNELOne of the sources said the commission wanted to establish whether the councils had demonstrated accountability, managerial competence and integrity since the Supreme Court granted 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.
“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 development comes more than two years after the Supreme Court affirmed the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas and barred state governors from controlling funds allocated to the councils.
In May 2024, the Federal Government, through the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, filed a suit at the Supreme Court challenging governors’ control of local government allocations.
The suit also sought to stop governors from dissolving elected local government councils and replacing them with caretaker committees.
On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for state governors to control or withhold funds meant for local governments. The seven-member panel, led by Justice Garba Lawal, directed the Accountant-General of the Federation to pay allocations directly into the accounts of the councils.
Following the judgment, concerns were raised over the accountability and management of the funds.
In October 2024, the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, said the commission would monitor the budget performance of local governments to ensure that allocations were used for approved projects and programmes.
Olukoyede said the EFCC would work with relevant stakeholders to track council expenditure and prosecute officials found to have violated the law.
Efforts by The PUNCH to obtain comments from the EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, were unsuccessful as of Monday night.
WARNING: If You Are Not 18+, Don’t Click The Link Below 👇🫣
https://nya5.com/link?z=11857196&var=
Did you want to monetize your website, join MONETAG or ADSKEEPER and start earning
Please don’t forget to “Allow the notification” so you will be the first to get our gist when we publish it.
Drop your comment in the section below, and don’t forget to share the post.
Never Miss A Single News Or Gist, Kindly Join Us On WhatsApp Channel:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vad8g81Eawdsio6INn3B
Telegram Channel:
https://t.me/gistsmateNG