Anambra governorship aspirant under the banner of Labour Party, John Chuma Nwosu has called on the Anambra State House of Assembly to withhold passage of the Anambra State Local Government Administrative Law 2024 Draft Bill pending before the House as its contents negates the envisaged financial independence of the local government system in the state.
Nwosu, a technocrat and IT Expert in a statement in Awka said there are clear evidences that by virtue of the draft Bill, “Anambra State Local Government Administrative Law 2024,” now before the Anambra State House of Assembly, Gov. Charles Soludo seeks to reverse by subterfuge, the recent hard-earned Local Government autonomy and fiscal independence.
He said the provisions of the draft bill is a ploy, a bureaucratic overreach, unconstitutional and illegal as it goes against recent Supreme Court judgment on financial autonomy of Local Governments.
“Indeed, the law seeks vide Section 13 (1) “State Joint Local Government Account” to expropriate Local Government Funds, especially “Allocation due to it from the Federation Account.”
“Section 14 (3) of the proposed law, requires that “Each Local Government shall, within two working days from the receipt of allocation from the Federation Account in a case where the allocations are received directly from the Federation Account for any month, remit to the Consolidated Account a percentage as determined by the Anambra State Planning Board.”
“Section 16 (3), requires the Local Governments to “remit to the Security Trust Fund an amount consisting of 20% of the total received by the Local Government for the month or any other amount the Security Trust Fund Account Committee may determine.”
He expressed worries noting that these provisions of the draft law seek to illegally takeaway with the left hand what was received legitimately with the right hand.
“This use of Executive Fiat, Legislative Subterfuge and legerdemain by the Anambra State Government is dubious and unconstitutional” he said.
“Gov. Soludo’s attempt to continue to hijack Local Government Funds must be resisted. He has done so for the past four years without discernible results. Whatever funds that belong to the Anambra State 21 Local Governments as the third tier of government and a federating unit should be left to them for effective governance and grassroots development in the State. Soludo can’t be allowed to hijack Anambra Local Government Funds”
“The Anambra State House of Assembly must stand tall and as part of its checks and balances role, should not pass this dubious bill, which constitutes a reversal of gains made nationally by Local Governments and so as not to undermine their overall autonomy, and specifically, their financial independence and functionality” Nwosu stated.
