The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has issued a stern warning to local government chairmen and councillors regarding the judicious use of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds.
He stated that officials who misappropriate these allocations could face prosecution.
Speaking on Thursday at the 17th-Anniversary Annual Lecture of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) in Abuja, Fagbemi highlighted the federal government’s commitment to ensuring local government funds are used for their intended purposes—development and governance.
His remarks come in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court ruling on July 11, which mandated that the federal government should pay allocations directly to local government councils from the federation account. The court also ordered the withholding of allocations to local governments managed by unelected officials appointed by governors.
Fagbemi detailed the federal government’s frustrations with the states’ handling of these funds. He described how some local government secretariats have become derelict, overrun with weeds, due to the mismanagement of their funds.
“The money meant for the local government was not given to the local government, and if we had gone via amendment of the Constitution, whoever that Speaker was, who attempted to allow an amendment of the Constitution to give serious autonomy to the local government if he survived that term, he is not coming back,” Fagbemi explained.
He elaborated on the legal and administrative dynamics, pointing out that states were originally acting as agents of the federation, entrusted with transmitting the funds to the local governments.
However, the mismanagement by state authorities necessitated judicial intervention. “At that stage, we felt it is no longer possible to persuade the states to follow the Constitution unless there is an order,” he stated.
Fagbemi emphasized the legal vulnerabilities of local government officials compared to governors, who have immunity.
“The governors have immunity; the local government council chairmen or councillors, they have no immunity, so they have to choose between dealing with the funds of the local government as they like and risking going to jail. The choice is theirs,” he warned.
The Attorney General urged local government officials to utilize their funds effectively, particularly in infrastructure projects like road construction and upgrades. He also highlighted the potential benefits of proper fund utilization in enhancing local security, noting that grassroots-level information is crucial for the optimal performance of security agents.
Fagbemi’s message was clear: local government officials must choose between integrity and prosecution.
“If they want to tamper with these funds and end up in jail, it is their choice. Or if they want to write their names in letters of gold, activities like construction or upgrading of roads must return to the local government. They don’t all have to come to Abuja,” he said, underlining the significant role of local governance in national development and security.
