By Michael Chibuzo
As the embattled Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Soludo gets ready for the Saturday kangaroo coronation of the illegitimate Transition Committee Chairmen and members he appointed from his APGA faction as substantive Local Government Chairpersons and Ward Councillors, I thought it wise to highlight a recent piece of news that Soludo’s administration and APGA faction would rather suppress.
In the latest report of the Federation Account Allocation Committee outlining the distribution of revenues to the three tiers of government, it was revealed that the 21 Local Government Areas in Anambra State received a total of N9.14 billion for the July disbursement. This amount is higher than the N7.42 billion the 21 LGAs received in June.
The problem however is that this N9.14 billion is not truly domiciling in the hands of the local government administrations across the 21 LGAs in Anambra State for their use to better the lives of our people at the grassroots, rather as has been the practice for long under APGA, Governor Soludo is in custody of this whooping N9.14 billion under the guise of State Joint Local Government Account (SJLGA).
For more than two years, Soludo dilly-dallied to conduct a local government election to enthrone a legitimate local government administration in Anambra State, instead the governor appointed APGA members to serve as Transition Committee chairpersons, and gave them fraction of the amount due to each of the LGAs from FAAC to run the affairs of the LGAs. They dare not complain since they serve at the pleasure and mercy of the governor who loves eroding democracy.
The Supreme Court verdict on LGA administrative and financial autonomy jolted Soludo and he immediately remembered to conduct a local government election and in doing so threw caution and every democratic norms to the winds including disregarding several superior provisions of the electoral act and superintending a nocturnal amendment of the ANSIEC law just to freely impose his preferred cronies as Chairmen and councillors in the 21 LGAs in Anambra State.
To the wise Anambrarians, it is obvious that Soludo is not really interested in enthroning true democratic governance at the local government level, he is rather fighting to continue through the backdoor an addictive practice of controlling the FAAC allocations accruing to 21 LGAs as well as colonising their IGR sources without accounting for these funds. To show you why this 21 LGAs FAAC Allocation is addictive to Soludo, in just two months, the 21 LGAs have received a total of N16.56 billion!
Nobody in Anambra State today can boldly present how Soludo disbursed or spent this N16.56 billion belonging to the 21 LGAs in two months. They spend it in the dark, giving them room to embezzle or divert as much as they want. It is for this reason that Soludo is desperate to foist his cronies as elected LGA officials using any means necessary no matter how undemocratic and obnoxious.
Even though the All Progressives Congress in Anambra State as well as a handful of other major political parties are boycotting the kangaroo coronation of APGA scheduled for this Saturday, it is still very necessary that Governor Soludo and his anti-democratic party, APGA are made to account for how these FAAC allocations that has accrued to our 21 LGAs were disbursed and spent by the state government. They owe ndi Anambra this debt of accountability.
Governor Soludo should be made to concentrate their attention on utilising the legal FAAC allocations and independent revenue accruing legitimately to the state and leave the LGA FAAC allocations out of their gluttonic menu of embezzlement. In case people are not aware, in the same July disbursement, while the entire 21 LGAs received N9.14 billion as FAAC allocations, the Anambra State Government received a total of N12.96 billion as FAAC allocations. This amount comprises of the statutory allocation, 13% derivation share, stamp duty levies, ecological fund, VAT and exchange gain allocation.
The N12.96 billion available for the Soludo administration to expend from Anambra’s July disbursement from FAAC is different from the internally generated revenue that comes into the state’s treasury from within Anambra State. So, ordinarily, even with a porous IGR collection system put in place by Soludo’s government, Anambra State Government should have at least N15 billion available to it for spending from its legitimate revenue streams. Soludo therefore, has no reason to eye FAAC allocations belonging to the 21 LGAs if not for possible embezzlement purposes.
Ndi Anambra, we must remain vigilant and ensure that APGA and Soludo’s administration account for every kobo of public funds that accrues to the state or any of its LGAs. Our collective resources are meant to be used in a transparent and accountable manner to better the lots of the people and not as a feedstock to feed the stomach and greed of few individuals in government. To this end, let us start by asking Prof. Charles Soludo to tell ndi Anambra how he spent or disbursed the latest N9.14 billion FAAC allocations belonging to the 21 LGAs.
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