A civil society organisation (CSO) committed to transparency and accountable leadership in Nigeria, the Centre for Human Rights and Accountability Network (CHRAN), has cautioned state governors against acting in contempt of the Supreme Court judgement conferring financial autonomy on the 774 councils.
Reacting to recent remarks credited to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and vice chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), during a press conference at the CHRAN’s Hall in Uyo, the state capital yesterday, the director of the civil rights group, Otuekong Franklyn Isong, faulted Makinde, arguing that the governor has misinterpreted the Supreme Court judgement thereby misinforming the public on the ruling.
The Oyo governor was reported to have remarked during an emergency meeting held at the Executive Chambers of the Governor’s Office in Ibadan that despite the Supreme Court verdict, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) will still pay the local government allocations into the States/LGAs Joint Account, as stipulated in the 1999 constitution.
The pro-democracy group applauded the judgement, which, according to the group, has positively ended the years of advocacies by the CHRAN and other CSOs in the country for the autonomy of local governments in Nigeria to be granted.
Comrade Isong maintained that the commencement date of the Supreme Court judgement was immediate, adding that the FAAC should comply with the judgement by paying council funds directly to the 774 councils’ accounts.
He said: “The judgement has castrated the potency of Section 162(6) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which created ‘State Joint Local Government Account’ that over the years had been used by state governors to cripple development at the grassroots level of governance.
