The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, has admonished local government chairmen to be prudent and accountable, saying that they do not have immunity from investigation and prosecution for fraud.
Olukoyede stated that his commission would not wait till the end of the tenure of any local government chairmen before probing them.
A statement on Wednesday by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale said Olukoyede disclosed this while speaking at the Gombe State Local Government Summit.
The statement said Olukoyede told the local council chairs to be prudent in the management of the huge resources at their disposal stressing that “Local government chairmen do not have immunity and we are not going to wait until you finish your tenure to come after you.”
It said the EFCC’s boss decried the stagnation, poverty and deprivation rampant in rural areas in the country despite the enormous resources that had been deployed to those places over the years.
“The impact of these resources is not felt by the people living in these areas. Councils, instead of becoming catalysts of growth, have become caricatures existing only in name”, he was quoted as saying.
To ensure prudent management of resources and accountable stewardship, he recommended to the chairmen the need to establish a compliance unit to assist them in monitoring the use of resources and the delivery of projects.
He informed them that the commission has established a Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Department, adding that officers of the department will be visiting local government councils in Gombe State to monitor the use of the expected enhanced receipts from the federation account.
Olukoyede further disclosed that the commission would be visiting local governments periodically to monitor their funds.
“EFCC will be paying you visits occasionally to monitor how you are using the funds. We will come in the evening. Sometimes you may even be seeing us in your dreams, “ he said.
The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences Commission, Musa Aliyu expressed dismay that only seven out of the 774 LGAS have websites, which makes it difficult to monitor their expenditures.
In his opening remarks, Governor Yahaya Inuwa said the summit was designed to improve the capacity of the council administration in the state to meet the expectations of the people.
“For the autonomy to be beneficial and useful, the councils must have capacity and discipline to utilize their resources for the good of the people,’’ he stated, noting that the state was not caught unaware by the Supreme Court ruling as it had already granted financial autonomy to its 11 councils.
