Governors Write Buhari: NFIU Has No Business On How We Disburse LGA Funds

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) says the Nigerian Financial
Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has no business meddling in how state
governments disburse funds to their respective local
governments.

The governors, in a letter issued by on their behalf by
Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, NGF spokesman, asked President
Muhammadu Buhari to call the NFIU to order.

The unit had on May 6 announced new guidelines which would make
the joint account system currently in use by state and local
governments only exist for the receipt of allocations from the
federation account but not for disbursement.

By implication, governors may lose control of local government
funds. This is part of the measures put in place to guarantee local
government autonomy.

Last week, the NFIU also issued another warning, asking the
governors to steer clear of local government funds effective from
June 1.

But the governors described the measures as a “brazen attempt by
the NFIU to ridicule our collective integrity”.

They argued that the move violates the constitution, adding that
they reserve the powers to make statutory allocations to the local
governments.

“Extracting copiously from the constitution, governors drew the
attention of the President to section (6) (a) and (b) which confers
on the States and National Assemblies the powers to make provisions
for statutory allocation of Public revenue to the Local Councils in
the Federation and within the states respectively,” read a
statement Bello-Barkindo issued on their behalf.

“Similarly, the Governors added, Section 162 (6) expressly
provides for the creation of the States Joint Local Government
Account (SJLGA) into which shall be paid all allocations to the
LGAs of the State from the Federation Account and from the
government of the state.

“The NGF Chairman emphasises that nothing in the NFIU Act 2018
gives the body the powers that it seeks to exercise in the
guidelines that it released and is therefore acting in excess of
its powers and by so doing, Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar added, NFIU
exhibits complete disregard of the constitution of Nigeria.”

The governors added that local government councils are a
creation of the constitution and are not financial
institutions.

“They are not reporting entities and are therefore not under the
NFIU in the manner contemplated by the NFIU so-called guidelines,”
they said.

“In principle the NFIU should concentrate on its core mandate of
Anti-money laundering AML activities and Combatting financing
Terrorism CTF as prescribed in the Act establishing it and should
desist from encroaching on or even breaching constitutional
provisions.

“The NFIU should seek to comply with those standards on
combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism and its
proliferation as stipulated and not dabble into matters that are
both constitutional and beyond NFIU purview.”

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Joint Account: Governors Urge Buhari to Call NFIU to
Order

Nigeria’s 36 governors have approached the President of the
Federal Republic and Commander-In-chief of the armed Forces,
President Muhammadu Buhari on the decision by the Nigerian
Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to dabble into a matter that is
beyond its mandate.

The Chairman of the NGF and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz
Yari Abubakar, signed off a letter in which governors expressed
“dismay and angst at this brazen attempt by the NFIU to ridicule
our collective integrity and show total disregard for the
constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria (1999) as
amended.

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, which was
excised from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, set June
1, 2019, as the takeoff date of the new order, making it compulsory
for all LGA allocations to go straight to their respective bank
accounts. The decision is contained in a guideline released by the
NFIU after a lengthy meeting with officials of commercial banks in
Abuja.

But in a swift reaction, the NGF Letter was titled Re: NFIU
Enforcement and Guidelines to Reduce Crime Vulnerabilities Created
by Cash Withdrawal from Local Government Funds Throughout Nigeria
Effective June 1st, 2019.

The letter is dated May 15th, 2019.

Extracting copiously from the constitution, governors drew the
attention of the President to section (6) (a) and (b) which confers
on the States and National Assemblies the powers to make provisions
for statutory allocation of Public revenue to the Local Councils in
the Federation and within the states respectively.

Similarly, the Governors added, Section 162 (6) expressly
provides for the creation of the States Joint Local Government
Account (SJLGA) into which shall be paid all allocations to the
LGAs of the State from the Federation Account and from the
government of the state.

The NGF Chairman emphasises that nothing in the NFIU Act 2018
gives the body the powers that it seeks to exercise in the
guidelines that it released and is therefore acting in excess of
its powers and by so doing, Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar added, NFIU
exhibits complete disregard of the constitution of Nigeria.

The NGF Chairman further accused the NFIU of “stoking mischief
and also deliberately seeking to cause disaffection, chaos and
overheat the polity.”

The NGF says that Local Government Councils are a creation of
the constitution and are not financial institutions. They are,
governors also said, not Reporting entities and are therefore not
under the NFIU in the manner contemplated by the NFIU so-called
guidelines.

In principle the NFIU should concentrate on its core mandate of
Anti-money laundering AML activities and Combatting financing
Terrorism CTF as prescribed in the Act establishing it and should
desist from encroaching on or even breaching constitutional
provisions.

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) is the Nigerian
arm of the global financial intelligence Units (FIUs) once
domiciled within the EFCC but now for the purpose of institutional
location domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria. This means the
NFIU is only mandated to trace or track laundered money that finds
its way into terrorism financing and report such to the nation’s
security agencies. The NFIU should seek to comply with those
standards on combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism
and its proliferation as stipulated and not dabble into matters
that are both constitutional and beyond NFIU purview.

Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo
Head, Media and Public Affairs
Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat
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