The federal government has inaugurated a 10-member inter-ministerial committee to enforce the supreme court judgement granting financial autonomy to the LGAs.
In July, the apex court ruled that the federal government should pay allocations directly to local government councils from the federation account.
The supreme court also held that the federal government could withhold allocations of LGs governed by unelected officials.
Five weeks on, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, set up the inter-ministerial committee to implement the verdict.
Disclosing this in a statement on Tuesday, the Director of Information and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, said Akume would chair the committee.
Members of the committee include Akume (chairman); Wale Edun, minister of finance; Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation; Atiku Bagudu, minister of budget and national planning; and Oluwatoyin Madein, accountant-general of the federation.
Others are Okokon Udo, permanent secretary, ministry of finance; Muhammed Shehu, chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC); and representatives of state governors and LGAs.
Imohiosen said the committee’s primary goal is to ensure that local governments are granted full autonomy, allowing them to function effectively without interference from the states.
According to him, “This move is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to give appropriate implementation to the provisions of the Constitution, which recognizes local governments as the third tier of government.”
