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The Nigerian Senate has passed a motion asking the state houses of assembly, presidency and other relevant stakeholders to hasten the process leading to the granting of financial autonomy to council areas nationwide
During the debate on a motion on the new financial guideline released by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Deputy Senate President and Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, Ike Ekweremadu, urged liaison to avert breaching of the nation’s law book.
He appealed to the state lawmakers to fast-track work on the pending constitutional amendments to give legal backing to the councils’ independence.
The NFIU’s new rule mandates financial institutions to disburse accruable funds directly to the council areas and not for other purposes.
The guideline reads in part: “With effect from June 1, any bank that allows any transaction from any local government account without monies first reaching a particular local government account will be sanctioned 100 per cent locally and internationally.
“In addition, a provision is also made to the effect that there shall be no cash withdrawal from any local government account for a cumulative amount exceeding N500,000 per day.”
The upper legislative chamber observed that the measure would deepen democracy and enthrone good governance at the grassroots.
The resolution followed the adoption of the motion sponsored by Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Niger North).
However, some civil society groups, including the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, (HEDA Resource Centre) and Connected Development (CODE) have welcomed the move.
Reacting, Chairman of HEDA, Olanrewaju Suraju, stated that the directive was long overdue, adding: “NFIU’s decision to enforce extant provisions of the law against meddling with local government funds is a milestone in the fight against institutionalised corruption.”
In his remarks, CODE’s founder/chief executive, Hamzat Lawal, regretted that for years, the federal and state governments exerted great influence and control over the councils, leaving room for embezzlement, mismanagement and financial leakages as well as denying them the opportunity to develop and bring governance closer to the people at the grassroots.
