Breaking: Tinubu Issues Threats to 36 Governors Over LG Autonomy
President Bola Tinubu has threatened the governors of the 36 states in Nigeria that he may be forced to issue an executive order to enforce a direct allocation to local government, should they fail to adhere to the recent ruling of the Supreme Court that affirmed financial autonomy for the third tier of government.
The president issued the threat while speaking at the 15th National Executive Committee meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja on Friday, December 19.
Source: Twitter
In a covert and stern comment about governors withholding the statutory allocations of the local governments, President Tinubu warned that failure to comply with the Supreme Court ruling could force him to issue an executive order to directly send the funds to the council accounts from the Federation Account Allocation Committee.
In his address to the NEC members, which included the governors, members of the National Working Committee and other APC leaders, the president said:
“The Supreme Court has capped it for you again, saying, ‘give them their money directly.’ If you wait for my Executive Order, because I have the knife, I have the yam, I will cut it.”
However, the video of the president's address has started generating reactions from some Nigerians. Below are some of their reactions:
Fisayo Ademuwagun commended the president:
"I like how President Tinubu is handling this. Local government autonomy will happen whether governors like it or not. Now the next thing is state police — grassroots security can’t wait any longer."
Babajide Blunt commended the president:
"Interesting. My worry is who will be assessing them? Who assesses their projects and the quality of delivery? What is the laid-down penalty for misappropriation? Effective local government administration is key to rapid development, especially in interiors-from infrastructure to security, but who will be assessing or supervising them?"
Dabs remarked:
"Tinubu just put governors on notice. LG funds about to bypass state pockets? Game changer?"
Kelly projected governors fighting back:
"But we know the pushback will be fierce, governors won't give up that control easily, legal battles incoming, political horse trading."
Adebanji backed Tinubu:
"This is a strong and necessary stance from President Tinubu. Local Government autonomy is already backed by the Constitution, so governors delaying or blocking it are acting in bad faith. If dialogue and “respect” fail, then decisive action is justified. LG funds are meant for grassroots development, not to be hijacked."
See the video of the president's speech here:
Source: Legit.ng
