Governors Report NFIU To Buhari Over Disbursement Of LGA Funds

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has said the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has no business interfering in how state governments disburse funds to their respective local governments.

The states governors, in a letter issued by on their behalf by NGF spokesman Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, requested President Muhammadu Buhari to call the NFIU to order before it is late.

NFIU on May 6 announced new guidelines which would make the joint account system currently in use by state and local governments only exist for the receipt of allocations from the federation account but not for disbursement as stated in the constitution. And the guidelines takes effect from June 1.

In the letter they argued that the move violates the constitution, adding that they reserve the powers to make statutory allocations to the local governments.

According to it, “Extracting copiously from the constitution, governors drew the attention of the President to section (6) (a) and (b) which confers on the States and National Assemblies the powers to make provisions for statutory allocation of Public revenue to the Local Councils in the Federation and within the states respectively,”

“Similarly, the Governors added, Section 162 (6) expressly provides for the creation of the States Joint Local Government Account (SJLGA) into which shall be paid all allocations to the LGAs of the State from the Federation Account and from the government of the state.

The NGF said,“That nothing in the NFIU Act 2018 gives the body the powers that it seeks to exercise in the guidelines that it released and is therefore acting in excess of its powers and by so doing, NFIU exhibits complete disregard of the constitution of Nigeria.”

“They are not reporting entities and are therefore not under the NFIU in the manner contemplated by the NFIU so-called guidelines,” said the letter.

“In principle the NFIU should concentrate on its core mandate of Anti-money laundering AML activities and Combatting financing Terrorism CTF as prescribed in the Act establishing it and should desist from encroaching on or even breaching constitutional provisions.

And with this, governors may lose control of local government funds. This is part of the measures put in place to guarantee local government autonomy.