Nigeria’s move to boost the autonomy of local governments and stop their funds from being tampered with by state governments is the trending story in Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Nation newspapers reported that local governments’ financial autonomy is set for a major boost — courtesy of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
The agency has banned banks, governors, financial institutions, public officers and other stakeholders from tampering with the statutory allocations of Local Government Areas from the Federation Account.
The Vanguard also reported that the Federal Government drew the battle line with state governments over financial autonomy for local councils.
Alarmed by the continuous misuse of cash allocated to local councils across the country by state governments through the State Joint Local Government Accounts (SJLGA), the federal government outlawed the meddling of states in council allocations via the newly inaugurated Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU.
The Daily Trust said that 30 people were killed in an attack on Dangurgu village by suspected bandits in Dansadau district of Maru local government area of the state.
The Leadership said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has taken bold steps to reverse the $4 billion Nigeria spends annually on imported textiles and ready-made clothing by kicking off the distribution of cotton seeds and other inputs to farmers in Katsina State.
The Guardian reported that barely two weeks after the National Assembly passed the N8.916 trillion budget for 2019, the implementation of the financial plan is already being threatened by the spate of vandalism of oil pipelines across the country.
The Sun said that following the seizure of 30 tonnes of poisonous ponmo worth about N10 million on Sunday, the Lagos State Government has set up a monitoring and investigation committee to uncover the source of the cow skin.
MM/GIK/APA