The House of Representatives has directed the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to withhold allocations from the Federation Account to local government areas in the country being run without elected officials but caretaker committees.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Rep. Ademorin Kuye and Rep. Jonathan Gaza Gbewfi at plenary on Tuesday.
In his lead debate, Rep. Kuye expressed concern that the dissolution of democratically elected council officials is in direct contravention of section 7 of the Nigerian Constitution, the Supreme Court pronouncement on such matters and a deliberate affront on democracy.
The motion read: “Worried is the increasing number of states acting with impunity and constitutional disregard as about 21 state governors are currently running councils with caretaker committees
“Dismayed that this impunity and constitution disregard is a deliberate effort to upstage democracy, shrink the development potential of Local Councils, enshrine lack of accountability and limit transparency in local governments and the State as a whole.”
