Politics,Buhari’s anger on diversion of statutory allocations to local government council

ONE of the exhilarating declarations of the newly sworn-in president of the federal republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari in his inaugural speech on May 29th, 2015 is his anger on the blatant diversion of monthly statutory revenue allocations to the local government councils by some state governments. President Buhari pointedly declared inter-alia: “Elsewhere relations between Abuja and the states have to be clarified if we are to serve the country better. Constitutionally, there are limits to areas of each of the three tiers of government but that should not mean the federal government should fold its arms and close its eyes to what is going on in the states and local governments. Not least the operations of the Local Government Joint Account, while the federal government cannot interfere in the details of its operations it will ensure that the gross corruption at the local level is checked. As far as the constitution allows me, I will try to ensure that there is responsible, responsive and accountable governance at all levels of government in the country. For I will not have kept my own trust with the Nigerian people if I allow others abuse theirs under my watch”.

  This policy declaration alone has dawned on Nigerians that God's hand is in the change of government in this seemingly accursed nation. It depicts the scourge of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan's administration which was brazenly mired in pervasive corruption, financial malfeasance and blatant impunity at the tiers of government, even in the security agencies and other public institutions. President Buhari rightly declared that he would be guided by the constitution in monitoring the three tiers of government, quiet unlike his predecessor who left the naïve impression that he was unable to question the diversion of local government council statutory monthly allocations by some of the rampaging and thieving governors. The president should never be swayed by the blackmail of his predecessor who brazenly insinuated that it would amount to witch-hunt to probe his administration, otherwise past governments should be brought into the probe bracket. Brazen corruption of the immediate past administration ensured that steps were taken to shield corrupt public officers from accounting for their misdeeds and monstrous illegalities by giving them sudden top political appointments in statutory commissions, boards and agencies at the eve of its departure.        

  Of course, President Buhari should not be hoodwinked by such shameful actions and shenanigans as he is expected to cancel the feverish, precipitate and belated political appointments which naturally fall within its imprimatur as in-coming administration which won the presidential election.

  It is pertinent to pick Anambra State as example to demonstrate in practical terms the monumental illegality in the brazen diversion of the monthly statutory allocations to the 21 local government councils for eight years. The constitution is unequivocal on the allocation of statutory allocations to the three tiers of government. The essence of statutory allocations to the local government councils is to enable the  elected Chairmen or the interim caretaker committees in conjunction with the representatives (elected or appointed councilors) from the communities that make up the  local council area to initiate and execute programmes and projects to upgrade the basic infrastructures, facilities and amenities viz: inter-village and inter communities link roads, potable water supply, rehabilitation of health and school buildings, sanitation, construction of markets with public conveniences, agro-allied small scale industries, cooperatives and sundry projects to enhance economic activities of the predominantly poor rural dwellers who wallow in privations.

  For eight years (2006 to 2014), the past government in Anambra state not only hijacked local government council statutory allocations but went further to take over robust revenue sources of the 21 local council areas. A curious legal labyrinth was woven to stall local government election; a subtle move which pitted the governor with the chairman of the party in power. Thus the self centered rationale of the former helmsman was to leave the questionable impression that he single handedly “developed' Anambra state thus relegating local government administration to extinction.  A fraudulent local government council election was hurriedly held at the eve of its departure whereby the party in power swept the polls; except Nnewi north worn by Labour Party was brazenly denied the seat so that the party will not agitate for its statutory allocations.  The fact remains that federal system of government makes it feasible that local government council is a platform where future elected public officers viz: governors and law makers are groomed; it is also where talents and creative minds are discovered to enhance democratic credentials for efficient and effective public administration. Nothing stopped the former governor to release monthly statutory allocations to the caretaker chairmen made up of local government top officers and later party members not minding the contraption called Joint State and Local Government Account. It was never meant for the governors to hijack the allocations to the local governments but to monitor the expenditures in supervising their projects.  They would have used the statutory allocations and prepare annual budgets which in the past were scrutinized by a department in the office of the deputy governor and approved by the state government. State government is legally empowered to monitor the implementation of the local government budgets, since the statutory allocations rightly belong to the communities. The expected synergy between the elected chairmen and councilors or caretaker communities and the leadership of the 177 communities would have initiated viable projects like roads to link villages and inter-communities in addition to other critical infrastructures, amenities and facilities throughout Anambra State.

  Rather than leave the statutory allocations to the local government councils to use for the improvement of standard of living in the communities, the former administration unilaterally released one million in December every year (since 2006 -2013) to Presidents-General of the town development unions to embark on the so called “palliative road rehabilitation” which amounted to dumping of few trips of sand on some portions of the roads, while the coming rains would wash them away and back to square one, as it were. This writer wrote a petition against the ineffective and fraud-laden (not approved by the legislature) measure since a large percentage of the yearly releases were pocketed by the executives of the town development unions, even the five hundred thousand naira ridiculously doled out to the traditional rulers for maintaining security in the communities, even where no law assigned them such sensitive role. There has been no monitoring and auditing of the public fund released to the leaders of the communities.

  Sadly, all the roads in the communities in Anambra State are impassable; these are communities which their respective local government councils were being allocated an average of one hundred and twenty million naira every month which would have gotten most of the roads tarred with drainages to minimize erosion menace. The fact remained that the diverted local government allocations were largely unaccounted for as they were misappropriated or channeled to other things without the approval of the legislature whose members are alleged to be rubber stamp.   The corrupt Goodluck Jonathan administration pretended that it has no power to sanction these misguided state chief executives.   For instance, in Enugu and Ebonyi states, chairmen of local government councils have built roads, bridges, markets, new classroom blocks, health centres etc. The only transparent and civilized governors in the two states in southeast geo-political zone had allowed the chairmen of their local government councils to exhibit their administrative acumen, talent, creativity and intellectual resourcefulness to husband the  revenue resources to improve the appalling and deplorable living standard of the people, even in semi-urban and urban based local government councils. The action of the two governors did not debar them from making superlative achievements with their states statutory allocation and sundry revenue sources like foreign grants from donor agencies.

  The recently published April 20, 2015 revenue allocation to local government councils (PILOT, May 28, 2015) gives a picture of the gargantuan amount of money allocated to the local government councils in Anambra state since year 2006 but nothing is on ground in terms of infrastructural facilities in all the 177 communities.  The worst is the state capital Awka where no street is tarred even pipe-bore water shows the billions of local government allocation brazenly being diverted by the past government; and unfortunately being emulated by the present governor. Unfortunately, the refined and accomplished technocrat erroneously wants to compete with his predecessor on the much trumpeted “monumental infrastructural development of Anambra state” and embraced the brazen illegality of his predecessor.  The 21 local government councils are an eye-sore as they lack money to cut  over-grown grasses harbouring reptiles, repair buildings, settle mountain bills of payment vouchers of petty suppliers(some N6,000 since 2012) and personal claims of staff and elected operatives.     The incredible April allocations are as follows: Aguata N134.5m, Anambra East N89.5m, Anambra West N92.1m, Aniocha N112.1m, Awka North N83.7m, Awka South N97m, Ayamelum N90.2m, Dunukofia N80m, Ekwusigo N89.8m, Idemili North N141.8m Idemili South N98.9m, Ihiala N119.6m, Njikoka N88.4m, Nnewi North N88.4m, Nnewi South N105.1m, Ogbaru N101.1m, Onitsha North N84.2m, Onitsha South N87m, Orumba North N93.9m, Orumba South N95.5m, Oyi N91.8m. Since the fear of President Buhari is the beginning of sanity in all the tiers and arms of government, it is expected that the governor would allow the chairmen of the 21 local government councils in Anambra state to settle their debts and also deploy the allocation and subsequent allocations to the needs of the communities to uplift the standard of living of the long suffering people.  

BY POLYCARP ONWUBIKO