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Fred Itua, Abuja
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, yesterday, alleged that out of the 774 local government areas in the country, none has a functional budget as required by law.
Falana said the inefficiency at the local and state levels, is a major setback in the fight against corruption. He said there is too much attention on the centre, with no investigation into how states and local governments expend their money.
Falana spoke, yesterday, at the 13th Anti-Corruption Agenda for the 9th National Assembly.
“None of the 774 local governments in Nigeria has any ruling budget. They are just operating without any direction.”
He condemned abuse of court process where those invited for questioning for alleged fraud, secure court orders to frustrate such moves. He warned that if the practice is not discontinued, criminals and other evil elements may soon adopt the same method to frustrate their arrests and eventual prosecution.
“This is alien to our laws. If we don’t stop, very soon, criminals, armed robbers and kidnappers will rush to court to stop their arrests. No court can stop any investigation. Even with immunity, you can be investigated, but not arrested.”
Chairman of the event, Prof. Shehu Abdullahi said every stakeholder must contribute to the fight against corruption.
“Corruption is a problem and Nigerians talk about it everyday. Despite the concerns, corruption still stays with us. We don’t intend to eliminate corruption, but we can reduce it to its lowest minimum?
“We are here to set an agenda for the National Assembly. But did they ask us to set an agenda for them? However, we will do what we are expected to to do. From the constitutional provision, the National Assembly has the responsibility to enact the necessary legislative framework for the country to tackle corruption.
“If we are going to set an agenda for the National Assembly, we need to engage them first and understand where the problems are.”
Dr. Otive Igbuzor, Chief of Staff to the Deputy President of the Senate, identified five bodies that should be at the forefront of he fight against corruption.
