 The Federal Government and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, have won the case against state governors over the financial autonomy from the local government joint account, just as Inyang Akwa of the Federal High Court delivered the ruling in favor of the federal government. The NFIU had in June 2019 issued guidelines aimed at curbing crime vulnerabilities created by cash withdrawals from local government accounts by various state governments. This led to the Nigerian Governors Forum suing the federal government and the NFIU for interfering with the state government's powers to initiate transactions on local government joint accounts, citing provisions in the 1999 constitution. We're now being joined by Bolane Oluqbani, a legal practitioner, and also Aminu Moazou Mifata, the chairman, Algon in Nassarua state. Good evening to you gentlemen. Good evening to you Bolane and Moazou. Good evening. Good evening to you Bolane. Thank you. All right thanks for joining us on news now. We're looking at the case won by the federal government and the NFIU on the financial autonomy of the local government. Now it's a win for the local government and the federal government so to speak and a loss for state governors. Now how is this coming to you? How is this coming to you? Well it's coming across as something that has been long overdue. The system that we run in Nigeria is a presidential system of government where there's a chief executive at the federal, the state, and the local government. Though the constitution allows each House of Assembly to make laws for the smooth running of the local government. But the idea is that the local government system in Nigeria following the presidential system has a chairman as chief executive. It should be totally autonomous of the state or federal government with its own budget, its own revenue that not ought to be tampered with by any other type of government. So the idea over the years that there will be a joint account allocation committee where money is coming from the federal government and the ways to be spent will be determined by the state government. It was an abuse of the constitution, the loss of this country, and indeed the spirit of the constitution. When the when the governors took the federal government and the NFIU to the court they had cited the 1999 constitution, well a particular section, that they believe gives them the power as state governors to put their hands in the funds of the local government. What exactly does the constitution say about the state government and the local government finances? The state government and the local government finances are two autonomous allocations from the federal government. But by virtue of the fact that each state House of Assembly has the power to make laws for the smooth running of the local government to serve as some kind of check and balance on the excesses of local government administration. To that extent, the governors have taken it upon themselves to be able to control totally whatever happens in the local government. In short, they turn the local government into a mere appendage of the state government. They hijacked all of the functions of the local government as far as the functions, you know, made to them in the constitution. Okay, Mr. Olukbani, let me just quickly please put you on a pause there and speak with Aminu Moazu Meifata. Mr. Meifata? Yes. Good evening and thanks for joining us on News Now. You are the Chairman of Algon in Nassarawai and of course, I believe this is a good case for you. Mr. Meifata? Mr. Meifaita? Yeah, I believe this is a good judgment. I'm listening. I'm hearing. I was saying that I believe this is a good judgment on the side of the local government in particular. Yeah, frankly speaking, this is a good development in the tortilla of government as a system in Nigeria. It will go a long way to strengthen the local government system to enable them to function efficiently so that people at the grassroots will enjoy more dividend of democracy. Even though myself in Nassarawai state, I don't have a problem with that. The state government or the governor doesn't interfere in our finances. We, the chairman, always sit down at the Jack meeting to decide and direct the finances accordingly as stated by the laws and regulations guiding the appropriations or the expenditures of local government countries. But in Nigeria, I can say a lot of states are facing such facing problems with their governors because most of the governors in these states, they control the resources, especially at the Jack account. Now, it's an account. It is a good phenomenon. It is a good creation because it states that the state's IGR, the state's IGR, 10% of it has to be contributed into the Jack account. As fact shares comes into the Jack account, the state government should contribute or should send in 10% of its total IGR of the preceding month. So you see, there would be more income at the disposal of the local government councils if really the aim of the Jack account is strictly followed. Now, this judgment, of course, as we've spoken, is a win for local government chairman who have been under the whims and caprices of the state governors, especially those who have been like a master to them. And of course, many have said in some quarters that the development in the grassroots is very poor and that is where governance is supposed to begin from. And when you get to hear cases, local government chairmen say they don't have so much to take care of the grassroots. So what's your take on this? Now that it looks to see if they've been empowered. Frankly speaking, the local government system being the tortilla of government constitutionally has basic responsibilities to undertake, like primary healthcare system, primary schools, and other activities that have direct impact on the people. And this system or this tortilla of government is the closest to the people because as a local government chairman and ordinary citizen doesn't know even who the governor or the president is, he doesn't care or she doesn't care. All her problems, if she doesn't sleep well, or if he doesn't have what to eat or what to give to the family, the next person he thinks of going to is the local government chairman. Then there are basic things, especially the primary healthcare system whereby you see the bulk of the people go to obtain primary healthcare facilities. So all these things require functional systems at the grassroots. Okay, that means... How can these basic constitutional responsibilities on the local government councils can be done by the local government councils? Thank you, Mr. Mayfata. And of course, I believe that work now begins almost immediately from the grassroots. And I'll go back to Mr. Olugbani. Mr. Olugbani, are you still there with me? Yes, I am. So we're talking about what the 1999 constitution says about the finances of the state are curable to the local government as well. Yes, hello. Yes. Can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you. So I said we left off talking about what the constitution says about the finances of the state, and of course, the local government. Well, the local government, as the earlier speaker said, has a contributory obligation of deciding parts of internally generated revenue to contribute to the local government for coffers. But what you find is that the local government struggles to raise internally generated revenue from motor parks, cemeteries, and markets, to be able to fund its customer records, primary healthcare system, and indeed primary education at the local government level. So when the state government does not contribute its quota to local government administration, which is the closest to the masses, in each state, you find that the money available is only used to pay salaries and very little or nothing is done. Also, in a state like Lagos, where refuse disposal has become a function hijacked from the local government and is re-carried out by the state, the system of sanitary inspectors virtually no longer exists at the local government level in Lagos state is not properly manned. And you find a situation where the environment is degraded, sanitation, soakingways, gutters, refuse disposal, you know, it's not the way it used to be. So with more money coming from the state, from this judgment, the only prayer is that the politicians at the local government level, you know, actually do proper service delivery to the masses. That's right. Thank you so much, Mr Alubani, for your time with us on news now. Thank you. Please do subscribe to our YouTube channel and don't forget to hit the notification button so you get notified about fresh news updates.