ENUGU, Nigeria — In a sweeping initiative to confront accountability and corruption in local government, Nafesoje Empowerment Foundation, a non-governmental organization, has threatened legal action against the chairmen of 17 local government councils in Enugu State over unaccounted federal allocations amounting to over N55 billion.
The allocations in question cover a period of three years, spanning 2020 to 2022, according to a document released by the Foundation to journalists in Enugu on Friday, May 19, 2023.
The Foundation’s legal counsel, C.I. Odo Esq expressed the group’s readiness to pursue litigation should the chairmen fail to provide satisfactory account for the allocations.
The legal demand letter reads in part, “Despite the enormous revenue allocations received by the above-mentioned 17 Local Government Councils, there is no comprehensible account or explanation by the various Local Government chairmen on how the allocations were spent or what projects the funds were used for.”
The Foundation’s letter, titled “DEMAND FOR PROPER ACCOUNT/EXPLANATION OF THE REVENUE ALLOCATED TO THE SEVENTEEN (17) LOCAL GOVERNMENTS COUNCIL OF ENUGU STATE FROM 2020-2022. A PRE-ACTION NOTICE,” criticizes the “worrisome silence” of the Local Government Chairmen, deeming it contradictory to the Local Government Administration Laws of Enugu State.
In a strong call for transparency and good governance, the Foundation is asking for a detailed breakdown of projects executed with the allocations from 2020 to 2022, giving the chairmen a 7-day ultimatum to respond.
Odo cautioned, “Be informed that should any of you fail or neglect to heed the above demand within 7 days of receipt of this letter, we shall carry out our Client’s further instructions of commencing an action against you in a Court of law to redress its course, and that shall be without further recourse to you.”
Further intensifying the pressure, the Foundation has threatened to petition anti-graft agencies for investigation, and possible arrest and prosecution of the chairmen who oversaw the management of the funds.
This move by the Mssrs Nafesoje Empowerment Foundation underscores an escalating tension in Nigeria’s struggle for government transparency and accountability, signaling a pivotal moment in the region’s fight against corruption.
