The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr Ola Oluoyede has charged local government chairmen across the country to be accountable, warning they do not have immunity from being investigated and prosecuted for fraud.
According to EFCC, Oluoyede gave this charge at the Gombe State Local Government Summit in Gombe on Wednesday.
He urged the local council Chairs to be prudent in the management of huge resources at their disposal, decrying the level of poverty across rural areas in the country despite the available resources.
“Local government chairmen do not have immunity and we are not going to wait until you finish your tenure to come after you. 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 said.
The EFCC boss recommended the establishment of a compliance unit to monitor and ensure prudent management of resources and accountable stewardship for proper use.
Oluoyede said the Commission has established a Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, FRAC, Department, where the 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.
“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 commended the Gombe State Governor Alhaji Muhammad Inuwa for his shared prosperity vision with council leadership. “If most governors are like you, I will have less work to do.”
In his contribution, the Chairman of ICPC Musa Adamu Aliyu expressed dismay that only seven out of the 774 local government councils in Nigeria have websites, which makes it difficult to monitor their expenditures.
