The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, says it has written to the 774 local governments in the country to open account with it in line with the federal government directives on the autonomy of local governments in the country.
The apex bank made this known on Wednesday at an event in Abuja, the nation’s capital to strenghtening local government autonomy in the country. The event was organised by the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA.
The magazine reported that the nation’s apex court has in July 2024 made a landmark ruling to the effect that the 774 local governments in the country finances must be stripped form the state government.
According to the details of the judgment made by the nation’s apex court after a suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, the local governments were directed to open an account with the CBN where monies accruing from the federation account will be paid directly.
The judgment had nullified a joint account hitherto held by state and local governments in the country.
But, several months after the judgment, according to sources in the councils the judgment has yet to take off due to the delay caused by the opening of accounts with the CBN.
Sources informed that state governments had been trying to frustrate the LGAs from opening the accounts so as to stop their financial autonomy.
Speaking yesterday, CBN Director of Legal services, Kofo Salam Alada said the accounts must be opened to ensure financial accountability on the part of the LGAs.
He said the apex bank is trying to ensure that signatories to these accounts are easily identified to ensure that some people can be held accountable by the time funds are paid by CBN into such accounts.
The CBN used the opportunity to call on the 774 LGAs to open the account promptly, urging the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, ALGON to liaise with LGAs administration to ensure that this is achieved.
Salam-Alada said, “This is all about standard procedure in the form of KYC (Know Your Customer). Anyone who will be a signatory to the account must be profiled. The process is ongoing, and we are collaborating with the AGF’s office. We have also written to the LGAs.
“We are using this opportunity to call on the 774 local government chairmen to come forward for their documentation. No account can be operationalised without the prerequisite Customer Due Diligence.”
Recall that the President of the National Union of Local Government Employee, NULGE, President Hakeem Olatunji Ambali recently accused some Presidency officials of frustratin the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment on LGAs autonomy. He urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to act swiftly on the issue.
Ambali said, “So, we call on President Bola Tinubu to act promptly so that these saboteurs do not cause problems for his government.
“This decision to fund local governments directly is one of the most popular measures taken by this government. This was affirmed by the wild jubilation across the country when the Supreme Court issued its judgment. So, one wonders why the implementation of this judgment is being delayed. The sooner the judgment is implemented, the better for us.
“Mr. President must take direct action and remove the stumbling blocks some people are placing in the way to frustrate the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment.”
He added, “We place the blame solely on the Federal Government, not the Governors Forum. If the Federal Government were serious about implementing this Court judgment, especially the critical aspect of local governments opening accounts with the CBN, that process would have been completed long ago.
“If the implementation of a Supreme Court judgment is being treated in this manner, it shows how the rule of law is being observed in Nigeria. This is the time for the Federal Government to correct this anomaly.”
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