The Federal Government has blamed the increase in the rate of crime in the country partly on the inability of the local governments in the country to play their roles following the joint account operated with state governments.
According to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, who spoke on Thursday in Abuja, the present rate of kidnapping would not find space where local government councilors were fully involved in governance and work with landlords associations and town unions.
Mustapha who made the assertion while emphasising the need and urgency to put an end to the mismanagement of fund of the joint accounts operated by state and local governments.
Mustapha who was represented by the Director of Special Duties at the Office of the SGF, David Attah, spoke at the national summit on local government administration.
According to him, with the control the state governments have over the joint accounts, local government areas do not have access to their allocations, hence the inability to provide basic services required of them to the people at the grassroots level.
He stressed that the government would no longer tolerate a situation where funds allocated to local government areas were tampered with.
His words: “After so many ruinous years of our recent past, we certainly cannot live with the continued mismanagement of public funds (joint account) any longer.
“Most of us know too well the dangers and consequences of this sustained degradation of our local government system which manifest in increased wave of crimes and social maladies which have dovetailed into various dimensions, agitations, and unrests.
“Suffice to say that no ‘baby factory’ or incidence of kidnapping would find space where local government councilors are fully involved in governance and work with landlords associations and town unions.”
He added: “All of us, directly, or tangentially, are exposed to the impact of local government administration daily.”
