State governors have been warned by President Bola Tinubu that if they disregard a recent Supreme Court decision upholding financial autonomy for Nigeria’s third tier of government, he may be forced to issue an Executive Order to mandate direct allocations to local governments.
At the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) 15th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Friday at the State House Conference Center in Abuja, Tinubu gave a speech.
Tinubu threatened to utilize the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to directly distribute local council monies if governors who were accused of diverting statutory allocations intended for local councils did not comply.
“The Supreme Court has capped it for you again, saying, ‘give them their money directly,'” the President told NEC members, who included governors, members of the National Working Committee, and other party leaders. I will chop it if you wait for my Executive Order because I have the yam and the knife.
“I’m just being really respectful and understanding with my governors,” he continued. Otherwise, you will see if you don’t begin putting it into practice, fact after fact.
Tinubu’s comments come after the Supreme Court’s historic ruling on July 11, 2024, which supported the federal government’s lawsuit to require local governments to have financial independence.
A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that it is unlawful for state governments to administer or keep money intended for local councils.
According to Section 162(5–8) of the 1999 Constitution (as modified), the court mandated that funds from the Federation Account be distributed directly to local governments. Nonetheless, a lot of governments have been using joint accounts to transfer the money.
In his speech, Tinubu reaffirmed the need for governors to follow the ruling of the highest court, cautioning that any more infractions might prompt federal intervention.
The Supreme Court is the ultimate objective. We must comply. He emphasized that we must honor the verdict.
