Erasmus Alaneme
5 September 2008
Abuja — Days after the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri, revealed that over N3 trillion was misappropriated by Local Government Chairmen across the country during the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, affected council chairmen are now singing before officials of the anti-graft body.
EFCC said the Commission's spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, who confirmed this to Daily champion, is not resting on its oars and has been inviting the council officials three at a time from each state.
In a related development the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) also told Daily Champion that the EFCC should not lose sight of the case against the former governor of Enugu State , Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, as the corrupt charges against him bother mostly on misappropriation of billions of naira belonging to local councils in the state.
National publicity secretary of the CNPP, Osita Okechukwu, chided the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for failing to ensure the country practices true federalism which would have made it impossible for many state governors to tamper with local government funds as well as give the people power to monitor those elected as council chairmen and councillors.
Speaking on what the EFCC was doing after making the startling revelation that such huge funds were misappropriated by the council officials from 1999 to 2007, the Commission spokesperson assured Nigerians that it is an on-going thing.
Babafemi said that given the size of the council areas in the country, the anti-graft body cannot take the case at once nor invite every official for questioning.
On this, he told our Reporter that. "We are inviting three from each state at a go, we have not forgotten the issue the commission is working on"
According to CNPP, the PDP should be held responsible for the crass corruption in the local councils as a result of its inability to amend the 1999 constitution so as give the Local Councils autonomy at least in the area of discharging their social responsibilities.
Osita Okechukwu said: "We accuse the PDP of being a tragedy to the Nigerian democracy in that with over 75 senators of out the 109, with over 290 house of representatives members out of 360 and over 700 house of assembly members out of 820 members in the 36 state houses of assembly, the PDP deliberately because of their ineptitude, corruption and incapacity have failed to amend the relevant sections of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria for instance to give local government a clear cut autonomy"
"Till date no community, no electoral ward in Nigeria today can boast of electing their Councillors or chairmen and because they are imposed on the people the tendency is that their social contract will be to those who imposed them not to the people.
"So the bottom of it is the amendment of the constitution, it is very necessary to actually make Nigeria a federal republic, sustain true democracy and the sanctity of the ballot box and make the peoples vote to count. Today in Nigeria the peoples vote don't count so corruption persists at the council areas" he stated.
The CNPP spokesperson further noted that in the move by the EFCC to investigate the council officials, it must not lose sight of the fact that the over N5billion being demanded to be refunded by Ex-governor Chimaroke Nnamani is local council fund.
Speaking on how the EFCC can cleanse the local councils and probably recover some money, Ockechukwu stated that "since December last year we petitioned against obasanjo who is the chieftain of the crass corruption on the ground up till date the EFCC has not even invited him once, they have not even investigated the matter.
"We are afraid that when the EFCC go round the whole local government and assembly them the next day they are released and bailed, that might be the end of the story. So we are urging the EFCC to give vent, to give more vigour to the pursuit of the monumental corruption on ground.
"It is not just that they are saying N3.3trillion was misappropriated, we are also saying the EFCC has the capacity to call the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and tell the Attorney General of the Federation that whatever the laws, nominate private investigators to help them. We are talking of 774 local councils, so if they go with the tepid speed on the ground today we do not expect much out of it" he said.
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