Chukudi Nweje
President Muhammadu Buhari has been told to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami and/or appropriate anti-corruption agencies to urgently investigate corruption allegations in the use of the monthly federal allocations to the 774 local governments in the country through the 36 state governors and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), in an open letter to also sought investigations into the alleged complicity of governors in corruption cases involving local government allocations between 1999 and 2019.
The letter was copied to Mr. Malami, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and Mr. Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
This followed the reported arrest last week by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of 16 local government chairmen in Kwara State, who were suspended by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for allegedly misappropriating N4 billion loan meant for paying teachers’ salaries and local government pensioners.
In the letter dated November 1 and signed by the deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said Investigating state governors and local government chairmen over allegations of corruption and abuse of power in the use of federal allocations meant to provide public goods and services would best serve the general public interests and welfare.