Group seeks financial autonomy for councils
BY EMMANUEL ELEBEKE
LAGOS — Founder and President of Leadership Watch, Dr. Martins Iwuanyanwu, has called on President Good luck Jonathan to separate local governments’ share of revenue from their states.
In a letter, entitled: ”Physical separation of the three tiers of government in the disbursement of revenue from federal allocation and guideline on loans to the state governors by banks,” Iwuanyanwu flayed the manner governors had rendered local governments prostrate by mismanaging monthly allocation meant for development.
He said any action by the President to detach local governments from state governments in revenue sharing would be in the best interest of development of the country and the nascent democracy in Nigeria.
According to him, the continued tying together of the local governments share of revenue from the federal allocation with that of states will encourage undeniable impetus to the state governors to mismanage the funds, as experience had shown.
The letter reads “We respectfully write to draw your Excellency’s attention to the danger of continued tying together of the Local Governments share of revenue from the federal allocation with that of the states and to request your Excellency to immediately cause the separation to safeguard our democracy.
This appeal is made because of the undeniable impetus the joint disbursement has given to the corruption at the state level since the beginning of this democratic dispensation. It is a known fact around the country that the state governments do not disburse to the local governments as expected, their share of the revenue from the Federal allocation.
Instead, the practice, as clearly seen, is that the governors collects the joint revenue cheque from the Federation account and give whatever pleases them to the council chairmen, who in turn signs for the governors that they have received their due share of the revenue in order to remain in the good book of the governors.
Regrettably, this singular situation has made the Local Councils ineffective, unproductive and even prostrate while the state governors continue to corruptly and excessively enrich themselves with the public resources. “We are of the opinion that Nigeria cannot be said to be fighting corruption in the present circumstance and therefore it is imperative for the Presidency under your leadership to put a stop to this ungodly act in order to allow the Local Government chairmen to function and become accountable to their own people,” he stated.
He also called on the incoming finance minister and the CBN governor to issue directive and guideline on loans that the Banks and other financial Institutions can grant the state Governors for the purpose of prudent management of resources.
This according to him, will not only help the federal government anti-corruption crusade but will also help in check-mating the on-going reckless abuse of the system by the state governors, who he said obtain all manner of loans from financial institutions on behalf of their states.
