The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has cautioned against the violation of the Supreme Court verdict on local government autonomy, vowing to deal with the erring council officials.
Fagbemi gave the warning on Thursday in Abuja while speaking at a conference for judiciary correspondents.
The AGF said governance at the grassroots has “suffered a lot” in the past but believes that with the enforcement of the verdict on local government autonomy, “life will come back to the local governments”.
“People at the grassroots have suffered long negligence and it is enough. The government of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu (GCFR) is here to right the wrongs of the past and put the country on a high pedestal among the comity of nations. That is why any attempt to sabotage the effort will be confronted headlong and given the desired treatment. The local government chairmen and councilors should not forget the governors have immunity and they (LG officials don’t have),” Fagbemi told the gathering.
“They have to choose between dealing with the funds of the local government as they like and risking going to jail. The choice is absolutely theirs. If they want to tamper with the funds and end up in jail, it is their choice, or if they want to write their names in letters of gold, activities like the construction or upgrading of roads, schools, hospitals, etc must return to the local governments. Life must come back to the local governments!”
In July, the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment and affirmed the financial autonomy of local governments. That verdict stopped governors from controlling local government funds.
It also mandated the AGF to pay local government allocations directly to their accounts in a move aimed at strengthening local government autonomy across the country.