ENetSuD Tells Gov Abdulrahman To Refund Local Government Funds, Praises Supreme Court Verdict
By Omowumi Omotosho
The Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD), an anti-corruption Civil Society Organization, has challenged Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State to initiate the recovery of funds that were allegedly allocated to Transition Implementation Committees (TICs). This demand follows a significant Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy in Nigeria.
ENetSuD, in a statement signed by its coordinator, Alagbonsi Abdullateef, criticized Governor AbdulRazaq for managing Kwara State for over five years without constitutionally recognized local government councils. The organization accused the governor of acting as the sole administrator of the state’s 16 local governments, alleging that he and his appointees unlawfully utilized local government funds during this period.
“History will not forget that the Governor was the sole administrator of the 16 LGs for 5 years and he, through his illegal appointees, received and spent all the LG funds for 5 years against the provisions of the laws and the judgments of the Courts.” ENetSuD stated.
In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, ENetSuD called on Governor AbdulRazaq to recover the funds paid to the TICs across the state’s 16 local government areas. The organization reminded the governor that his appeal to the Supreme Court has been invalidated by the recent judgment, which supports ENetSuD’s previous legal victories.
“ENetSuD calls on Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to immediately commence the recovery of all the funds that his government corruptly paid to the illegal TICs across the 16 LGAs of Kwara State when they were corruptly occupying the LG councils.
ENetSuD reminds Gov. AbdulRahman that his frivolous appeal at the Supreme Court to evade justice has now been rendered useless by the latest Supreme Court Judgement.
Of note is the fact that most of the prayers ENetSuD won at the High and Appeal Courts, which the Governor unconscientiously appealed to the Supreme Court, have now been unambiguously and definitively answered by the Supreme Court in its latest judgment, and of course, against the demands of the Governor but in favour of ENetSuD’s previous successes”, the statement read.
The Anti-corruption Civil Society Organization praised the Supreme Court’s decision as a major triumph for constitutional democracy, emphasizing that it complements their previous achievements against the AbdulRazaq administration.
“The Supreme Court of Nigeria has continued to position itself as the last hope of the citizens and the custodian of our constitutional democracy, which has been successively truncated for personal benefits by Governors and their pendulum State Assemblies across Nigeria, Kwara State being their lead and role model,” the statement noted.
ENetSuD declared that the Supreme Court’s verdict asserts that governors do not have the authority to dissolve democratically-elected local government councils or appoint TICs as replacements.
It should be noted that on Thursday, the Supreme Court of Nigeria also abolished the State Joint Allocation Account, enabling the Federal Government to directly disburse funds to local governments. The court also declared that any local government not governed by an elected council should be ineligible for federal allocations.
