LG FINANCIAL AUTONOMY: Nigerian Constitution does not recognize LGs as a tier of government – Fayemi

The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Kayode Fayemi, on Sunday said the Nigerian Constitution does not recognize local governments in the country as the third tier o government

Insisting that only the federal and state governments are recognised, the NGF chairman said the guidelines by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) on the financial autonomy for local government were issued by an agency oblivious of the provisions of the constitution.

The Ekiti State Governor also insisted that only a constitution amendment can change the status quo, which he said also require the approval by two-thirds of the 36 Houses of Assembly.

Fayemi stated this while speaking to eporters in Lagos, adding that the rift over the NFIU’s proposals and the controversy over local government autonomy had shifted to the court.
According to him, parties in the dispute cannot take further steps outside the constitution.

“As far as we are concerned, the position of the NGF on the issue is the position of the law.

“There is no law that has been passed in the country on local government autonomy. There have been several attempts, but it has never gotten 24 states Houses of Assembly out of the 36 in the country to make it happen.”

Continuing, he said: “Nigeria is not a three-tier federation; the talks about Nigeria being a three-tier federation is a distortion; it is just an aberration that we even have to go to Abuja to get approval on local governments.

Read also: Oshiomhole’s life under threat —APC

“If you want to create 200 local governments, it is your business because you and your people in your state should figure it out. It should not be the business of Abuja because that for me is surreptitious unitarism.

“You cannot go behind to do what the constitution does not allow you to do and that was what informed our position at the NGF over the ridiculous instruction to banks.

“You know that you cannot confront us; you are now going to bankers. What is the business of the banks with the accounts maintained by local government as long as the accounts are funded and the proper persons run the accounts?

“Besides that, what is the business of the NFIU on local government funds? When you read the NFIU law, NFIU monitors what is going on in the banking system, internationally and locally and if you have a specific case of money laundering, please bring it up. You cannot have a general rule to address a unique problem.

“You can’t because you want to fight money laundering; you now say that states and local governments cannot run joint accounts, which is in the constitution of Nigeria. Section 162 and we have a case pending in court on the issue.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now