Let your ingenuity be exhibited in transformation of our dear state to a land of economic prosperity and not on how to circumvent the laws of the land.”
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The Anambra State Labour Party (LP) Caucus in the National Assembly has expressed grave concerns over what it described as a ploy by the state Governor, Charles Soludo, to circumvent the recent Supreme Court ruling which granted financial autonomy to local government areas through a bill in the state assembly.
The Supreme Court, in July 2024, issued the declaration that monies accrued to local government areas must be paid directly to their accounts and was celebrated nationwide as a step toward empowering grassroots governance by ensuring that funds meant for LGAs would no longer be siphoned off by state governments.
This National Assembly lawmakers made this known in a press conference on Thursday, October 3, 2024. Present at the conference were Hon. Afam Victor Ogene, LP House of Representatives Caucus Leader, Hon. George Ozodinobi, Deputy Minority Whip, Hon. Aniekwe Peter, Hon. Okonkwo Uchenna, Hon. Emeka Idu, among other stakeholders.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Sen. Tony Nwoye said the Governor has conscripted the State House of Assembly to pass a law which is designed to keep the 21 local governments under the financial control of the state government, in direct contravention of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Key provisions of the said law, the Anambra State Local Government Administration Law 2024, allow the state to establish various accounts and impose levies on local government funds, effectively maintaining control over the finances of the LGAs, they stated.
For instance, they continued, Section 16 of the new law mandates that 20% of each LGA’s revenue be deposited into a “Local Government Joint Security Trust Account,” with the amount adjustable at the discretion of the state government. Similarly, other provisions dictate the pooling of LGA funds into state-managed accounts, contradicting the Supreme Court’s directive for independent local financial management.
The Labour Party Caucus stated, “Recent developments in Anambra State suggest that, perhaps, we had underated the dark art of impunity and hazy governance style of our state government. This is alarming, especially since the Anambra State House of Assembly seems to be complicit in these actions, undermining its role as a democratic institution.
“The latest manifestation of this anti-people ploy is the new Anambra State Local Government Administration Law 2024, being hurriedly enacted to deny the LGAs of the Supreme Court pronounced financial autonomy.
“For instance, Section 16 of the new law stated that, ‘(1) There shall be established, a Local Government Joint Security Trust Account which shall be a joint account managed on behalf of the Local Government Areas in the state.
‘…(3) Each Local Government shall, within two working days from the receipt of their allocation from the Federation Account, in a case where the allocations are received directly from the Federation Account for any month, remit to the Security Trust Account, an amount constituting 20% of the total revenue received by the local government for the month or any other amount as the Security Trust Account Committee may determine.’
“Also, against the wise decision of the Supreme Court, Section 13 subsection 1 of the controversial law, under the subheading: ‘State, Joint Local Government Account’, stated that the “State shall maintain a special account called State Joint Local Government Account and shall pay into it all allocations from Federation to the Local Governments of the State.
‘(2) The State shall distribute the funds due to the Local Governments as provided in subsection (1) of section 11, on such terms and in such manner as prescribed by the State House of Assembly.’
“In another section labeled ‘Local Government Consolidated Account’ it was stated that ‘Each Local Government shall, within two working days from the receipt of their allocation from the Federation Account, in a case where the allocations are received directly from the Federation Account for any month, remit to the Consolidated Account, a percentage as determined by the Anambra State Economic Planning Board.’
“This development is unacceptable and must be resisted by all who believe that democracy should serve the people, not just the interests of a few who abuse their power to deceive, manipulate, and rob citizens of their rightful resources and socioeconomic development.
“Effective and transparent governance is critical in ensuring that the needs and interests of the people are prioritised.
“In Anambra State, grassroots development schemes ought to have positive impact on the social and economic well-being of the people, especially women and youth. But when those in power prioritise their own interests, it undermines the democratic process and hinders progress.
“For these reasons, we call on the Anambra State Government, especially Governor Soludo and members of the State House of Assembly, to resist the temptation of standing against the development of the grassroots for whatever consideration. Anambra State Local Government Areas are in dire need of social and economic developments. Our roads, primary healthcare, basic education and youth development need emergency attention that requires every resource that rightly belongs to the LGAs.
“Intentional developments of our grassroots would ultimately impact on the overall development, progress and meaningful peace and security in the entire state.
“Let your ingenuity be exhibited in transformation of our dear state to a land of economic prosperity and not on how to circumvent the laws of the land to fund individual political ambitions.”