The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has reported state governors who had been stealing local governments’ funds to the Nigerian Financial Intelligent Unit (NFIU).

A report this morning in The PUNCH quoted NFIU spokesman, Sani Tukur as confirming that the organisation was in receipt of NULGE’s letter accusing the unnamed state governors of diverting LG funds.

“I can confirm to you that NULGE has officially informed the unit of the development. I have however not been officially briefed on the matter,” he said.

The paper also reported that NULGE on August 9 this year wrote to chairmen of the country’s 774 local government areas to alert them that the governors might be planning fresh tactics to steal the LG funds.

“It warned the council bosses and workers against helping the governors to steal the LGs’ money,” The PUNCH said.

It quoted NULGE National President Ibrahim Khaleel as telling the paper that the state governments had come up with another means of siphoning money from the local governments’ accounts despite the NFIU financial guidelines.

While NFIU had via its May 6, 2019 ‘Guidelines to Reduce Vulnerabilities Created by Cash Withdrawals from Local Government Funds throughout Nigeria’ warned governors to stop stealing LG funds, The PUNCH report said:

“Khaleel accused the state governments across the country of forcing local governments to pay levies to them from the fund apportioned to the councils from the federation account.

“He said local governments were being asked to contribute to the running of some projects in states which ordinarily were the responsibilities of state governments.”