The Federal Government has announced plans to pursue criminal proceedings against elected officials found colluding with governors to divert allocations earmarked for Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas, LGAs.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, made this disclosure on Thursday, stating that the decision aligns with a landmark Supreme Court ruling granting financial autonomy to LGAs.
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Addressing the 2024 Annual General Conference of the Abuja Chapter of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents, NAJUC, AGF Fagbemi described the misappropriation of local government funds by governors as an ‘impeachable offence.’
While the Federal Government cannot directly intervene in LGA elections, the Justice Minister affirmed its readiness to prosecute elected officials who mismanage funds allocated to them from the federation account.
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