May 24, (THEWILL)- A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja has restrained the Accountant General of the Federation and the Minister of Finance from remitting funds to the 21 LGAs of Anambra State from the consolidated revenue fund, pending the determination of a suit brought before it.
Justice Bello Kawo, who delivered the ruling, also ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe how funds that accrued to the LGAs from March 2022 to April 2024 were deployed and used by the Anambra State Government.
The orders followed an ex parte application filed by a legal practitioner, Chukwuebuka Mmeni Esq.
Defendants in the suit are the Accountant General of the Federation, Minister of Finance, Attorney General of the Federation, Anambra State Government and the EFCC.
Justice Kawo granted all the prayers sought by the Applicant upon reading through the ex parte motion, a nine-paragraph affidavit/annexures, as well as the oral submissions of his counsel, N. O. Okpe, who held the brief of Chimezie Enuka.
Reacting to the ruling, a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP) and former governorship candidate, Valentine Ozigbo, accused Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, of corruption for using appointees to run the local government areas of the state.
In a post he made on his verified X handle, Ozigbo described the use of appointees as chairmen of local government areas as not only corrupt but also illegal.
“While this news is not entirely cheerful, given that it involves funds due to the local government areas of Anambra, it is a welcome development.
“The corruption-laden use of appointed caretaker committees to manage the affairs of local governments has been consistently deemed illegal.
“It is unfortunate that Anambra’s Governor Chukwuma Soludo has continued this practice since his inauguration on March 17, 2022, despite promises to the contrary.
“Over the past two years, approximately N175 billion may have accrued to these LGAs. Now, imagine the impact this substantial sum could have had on schools, healthcare institutions, markets, and the lives of the people in LGAs like Ayamelum, Ogbaru, Idemili South, and Ekwusigo, which have felt little to no government presence.
“Consider that this approximated N175 billion is not part of the State Government’s allocation or the internally generated revenue in Anambra.
“Given the heightened insecurity that has plagued Anambra since this administration took office, continuing to remit these substantial funds without elected local government councils is counterproductive,” he wrote as he applauded Chukwuebuka Mmeni Esq., who dragged Soludo to court over the development.
He also urged the Anambra State Government to avoid wasting resources on legal fees to overturn the order, as it clearly serves the interests of the Anambra people.
“The illegality of the caretaker committees cannot be overstated, and no sophistry-cloaked legal argument can defend the indefensible.
“Our state would benefit more if the State Government redirected funds towards conducting genuine local government elections. Should the Governor persist in contesting the order without conducting these elections, I advise my party, the Labour Party, to join the suit to ensure that the right thing is done,” he added.
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