Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), says the federal government will no longer condone mismanagement of local government funds by states.
The SGF restated the government’s decision to end the operation of joint accounts by state and local governments.
Mustapha said this while speaking at the national summit on local government administration organised in Abuja.
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Represented by David Attah, director of special duties at the office of the SGF, Mustapha accused state governments of using their control of the joint accounts to starve local government areas of statutory allocations.
He said local government areas need to have full access to their funds in order to provide basic services to the populace at the grassroots.
“After so many ruinous years of our recent past, we certainly cannot live with the continued mismanagement of public funds (joint account) any longer,” he said.
“Most of us know too well the dangers and consequences of this sustained degradation of our local government system which manifest in increased wave of crimes and social maladies which have dovetailed into various dimensions, agitations, and unrests.
“Suffice to say that no ‘baby factory’ or incidence of kidnapping would find space where local government councilors are fully involved in governance and work with landlords associations and town unions.”
He said despite the challenges, no state has devised a system that made the local governments work or give proper account of the funds.
“All of us, directly, or tangentially, are exposed to the impact of local government administration daily,” he added.
In May, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) issued new guidelines targeted at achieving financial autonomy for local governments.