In the last one year alone, all the state governors have controlled an estimated N1.53 trillion revenue, being the LGAs’ share of allocation from the Federation Account. Each month, billions of naira are paid directly to the states instead of the councils, data gathered by LEADERHSIP Weekend have shown.
In addition, the governors of oil-producing states have been controlling more than N565.86 billion paid to them as the 13 per cent derivation funds, rather than the oil-producing areas as stipulated in the country’s constitution.
These figures are besides the other allocations accruing to the LGs and oil communities from draw-downs from the Excess Crude Account (ECA), which, when added together increase the revenue of the LGs and the oil communities currently controlled by the state governors by another N200 billion.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday, after its votes on the amendment of the 1999 Constitution, granted autonomy to the local governments by altering the contentious Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, which abrogated state joint local government accounts and empowers each local government to maintain its special account to be called “Local Government Council Allocation Account”.
In the first half of this year, the LGs got N585. 672 billion from the Federation Account. The amount excludes their share of Value Added Tax (VAT), Excess Crude Fund, and others. A breakdown of the figures shows that the LGs got N84.665 billion in January, N106.442billion in February, N90.928 billion (March), N96.466 (April), N92.190billion (May), and N114.981 in June.
The lower chamber’s move has now put elected local government chairmen in direct control of their allocations from the federal government rather than the state governors. The Senate has, however, rejected autonomy for the third tier of government, an action that has been condemned by some prominent Nigerians and groups.
Another move that would also reduce the amount of money under the control of the state governors is the persistent clamour by communities producing oil and gas in the Niger Delta that the 13 per cent derivation fund paid to state government accounts be stopped as provided by section 162 (6) of the constitution.
Instead, they are emphasising the need by the federal government to establish a national derivation board, which they insist would enable the communities manage money accruable to them.
The oil areas in different memoranda to the Senate Committee on Constitution Review (1999), the federal government, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and other relevant authorities have persistently insisted that the money ought to be controlled by the communities and not the state governments.
However, the operation of the states/local governments joint accounts continued to ensure that the state governors maintain access to funds to the detriment of the communities. This is also likely to change with the abolition of the states/LGs joint account by the House of Representatives.
The chairman of RMAFC, Mr Elias Mbam, has supported the abolition of the state/local government joint account.
Mbam declared that some of the state governors have defeated the aim of the joint account by trying to be “smarter than the constitution”. He therefore advocated the direct release of local government funds to them instead of into the joint account which places them at the mercy of the governors, adding that the local government councils were being treated from the federation account as a federating unit.
He stated that the abuse of the state/local government joint account worries all Nigerians and that the situation can only be reversed through constitution amendment.
According to him, “There have been allegations that local government and state joint accounts have been abused by some state chief executive officers. The commission has stated that the joint account should be abolished. Local governments should get their fund directly from the federal government but this will require the amendment of the constitution.”
“The issue of joint account has continued mainly because it is stated in the constitution. The constitution when it was drawn was done with good intention because it was supposed to be one of the tools of development but now, it’s been greatly abused. The account was done so that it would be increased before sharing and not for state government to reduce it before sharing it,” he added.
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