..Says agelong protection for Rivers’ governors may have crashed
The ruling of the Supreme Court on Thursday, July 11, 2024, may seem to target local council allocation and freedom from tampering but it may be the start of restructuring.
Blessing Nwikina, a government media expert of decades standing who seems to understand the working of governments, said in reaction that many government officials may not know that the road to jail is wider now.
In a statement he issued in Port Harcourt to clarify understanding, the Ogoni-born Nwikina, who served many administrations in Rivers State from the military to Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, said the ruling was bigger than financial independence of local government areas in Nigeria.
Harping on what he called its full implication for the council chairmen, he pointed what he called hidden flyer, saying it is the easiest route for chairmen to go to prison.
“For one thing, LGA funds would no longer be part of any state government’s revenue, as they would now be classified as consolidated finances allocated under ‘First Line Charges. For one thing, local council funds would no longer be under the purview of state accountants-general, or be open to states as part of the ‘Oversight Functions’ territory of state Houses of Assembly.”
By this ruling, he went on, the road is legally clear for the Federal Government to exercise all rights over the LGA funds. “State Governors can no longer control or direct LGAs on issues of expenditure.”
Rivers existing protection may have crashed:
“This could therefore, mean that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) can look into the books and finances of any local government council in any state in Nigeria, rendering the State Houses of Assembly powerless.
“It becomes more interesting in a state like Rivers where a subsisting court injunction obtained by a former governor had barred any agent or agency of government from interfering with its duty over state finances.”
He said the perpetual injunction dictum has so far protected past and present governors of Rivers State from EFCC invitations and had served as a cover over state Government officials from EFCC, and ICPC, or any investigation body in Nigeria.
Nwikina went on: “With this autonomy issue, LGA chairmen may no longer look for lifelines from governors as direct allocation would give them a certain amount of independence.
“This raises the caveat, if the political class is ready for this systematic clipping of the inflated wings of the governors, who hitherto had called the shots, direct allocation to LGAs is a technical way of reducing state governors’ grip on council chairmen, as FG could now hold any chairman answerable for any financial impropriety.”
The expert further said that the state Houses of Assembly can no longer exercise their “oversight” duty over LGA funds, as it wasn’t allocated from the state coffers.
He said traditional rulers can now breathe as their full statutory 5percent revenue allocations from the chairmen will be available unedited.
“This will take them off the, ‘loyalty’ control mechanisms of state governors.
“The governors have not yet realised that local government autonomy is the beginning of restructuring in Nigeria. They may wake up in the evening when all their might and control grip had eluded them. Everything must be tested in this democracy; the good, the bad, the ugly, and the intriguing as well,” he said.
