FG to prosecute elected officials colluding with Governors to divert LG funds

The Federal Government (FG) has vowed to initiate criminal proceedings against elected officials involved in the diversion of funds allocated to the country’s 774 local government areas (LGAs).

Speaking at the 2024 Annual General Conference of the Abuja Chapter of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, reaffirmed the FG’s commitment to enforcing financial autonomy for LGAs as upheld by the Supreme Court.

Fagbemi described the diversion of local government funds by governors as an impeachable offense, warning that such actions would attract strict legal consequences.

Concerns Over Mismanagement and Political Influence

The AGF noted that some governors strategically install loyalists in local governments through questionable elections, enabling them to exert control over funds meant for grassroots development. He stressed that while the FG has no authority to interfere in LGA elections, it retains the power to prosecute elected officials found guilty of financial mismanagement.

“The deplorable state of many LG secretariats across the country prompted the Federal Government to sue the 36 state governors at the Supreme Court,” Fagbemi stated, adding that his office may pursue further legal action to challenge the states’ authority to conduct area council elections.

Federal Government’s Stance on Financial Accountability

The Justice Minister reiterated the FG’s commitment to ensuring that funds disbursed from the federation account are used solely for their intended purposes. He warned that any collaboration to divert these resources would not be tolerated.

He said: “The situation was also such that even when the secretariat needed to buy stationeries, you had to notify the governor in advance that you want to spend your money. And we have listened to such funny arguments before and after the judgment, to the effect that, oh, they are not matured enough. I said, how better are you? Are you any better? Leave them.

“And we have been drawing these into the ears of the local government officials that look, the governors have immunity, but you don’t have.

“So, it is very easy for you to get yourself to Kuje or other prisons spread across Nigeria.

“Before I go further, let me say that even before the pronouncement of the Supreme Court, there were so many pressures coming from left, right and center. But I give kudos to President Bola Tinubu, who despite the pressure, was able to stand up and say that he is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that the 774 local governments are also people to be protected and he did so.”

The CJN, who was represented by the Secretary of the National Judicial Institute, Mr. Abdullaziz Olumo, urged journalists to avoid sensationalism in news reporting.

She further expressed concern over what she termed as “trial by media,” where premature narratives prejudge cases, sometimes infringing on constitutional rights.

Earlier in his keynote address, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, said there was need for the judiciary to continue to live up to expectation by ensuring that justice is not sacrificed on the alter of technicalities.

Speaking on the theme of the conference: “The role of courts in the enforcement of judgments,” Ozekhome maintained that courts must hold the balance of scale between feuding parties, even as he cautioned judges against denying lawyers the opportunity to effectively present their case in court.

In his welcome address, the Chairman of the Abuja Chapter of NAJUC, Mr. Kayode Lawal, while pledging the commitment of the media to fair and balanced reporting, also called for a holistic reform that would ensure that lawyers who compromise judges, are promptly and adequately punished.