Akwa Ibom State to Lose Billions of Naira from the Federation Account as Lawyer Drags RMAFC, FAAC to Court over Transition Committees

A legal practitioner, Uyoakam Ekerete, Esq., has approached the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, FCT, Nigeria for an order restraining the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) and the Accountant General of the Federation, from allocating revenue from the Federation Account to Akwa Ibom State, for the benefit of the Transition Committees recently constituted for the 31 Local Government Councils in the State by the State Governor, who is joined as the 4th Defendant in the suit.

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The Plaintiff in the suit filed on 14/12/2023 and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1684/2023, is asking the court to determine: Whether in the light of Section 7(1)(4) of the 1999 Constitution, the Governor in the absence of any emergency in the State has powers under Section 5(2) of the Akwa Ibom State Local Government (Administration) Law, 2017 to constitute interim administration for the 31 Local Government Councils in the State in violation of the plaintiff’s right to vote or be voted for in an election to a Local Government Council; and also: Whether the Local Government Councils whose system of government by democratic election is guaranteed in Section 7(1) of the Constitution is one and the same Local Government Councils referred to in Sections 7(6)(a) and 162(5) of the same Constitution?

In the Supporting Affidavit attached to the Originating Summons, the Plaintiff averred inter alia, that the Governor in place of democratically elected Local Government Councils, constituted “Transition Committee” for each of the 31 Local Government Councils, contrary to Section 7(1)(4) of the 1999 Constitution; that there is no emergency in the State to warrant the setting up of the Transition Committees but that the Governor is rather possessed of the desire to have absolute control and management of statutory allocations due to the Local Government Councils; that the setting up of the transition committees is in violation of his right to vote or be voted for in an election to a Local Government Council in the State and also amounts to taking control of a part of Nigeria in a manner that is not prescribed by the Constitution.