The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to withhold federal allocations to states that have failed to conduct credible local government elections.
On October 5, elections were held in several states, including Rivers, Benue, Akwa Ibom, and Jigawa.
However, many states have yet to hold local government polls and continue to receive allocations for their councils.
SERAP has expressed its dissatisfaction with this situation, describing the actions of some state governors as unacceptable.
In a statement from Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare on Sunday, SERAP urged Tinubu to direct the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun, to immediately withhold federal allocations from states that have refused to conduct credible local government elections.
The organization further requested that the President ensure that any allocations from the Federation Account are paid only to democratically elected local government councils and not to any other body or institution.
SERAP also called for transparency, asking the President to publish details regarding which local government councils have received federal allocations and whether these councils were democratically elected, as mandated by the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) and reinforced by the Supreme Court’s ruling on July 11, 2024.
“Your government has the obligation to enforce the Nigerian Constitution and to prevent public wrong, including by state governors,” SERAP stated.
“A democratically elected local government council does not and should not exist at the pleasure, whims, and caprice of governors or their political godfathers.”
SERAP emphasized that the government has a constitutional duty to ensure accountability in the spending of federal allocations and to comply with the Supreme Court’s judgment and the rule of law.