…As Court bars EFCC from unilateral indictment of state Govts***

The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday passed the state’s 2018 appropriation bill of N1,046 trillion into law, with the house approving N347.039 billion as total recurrent expenditure.

It also approved N699. 082 billion as the total capital expenditure from the development revenue fund for the year ending Dec. 31, 2018.

The passage followed the adoption of the report and recommendations of the House Adhoc Committee on Budget and Economic Planning, headed by Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu, who also counseled while presenting the committee’s report, that effort should be made to reduce total overhead cost of the state.

The lawmakers, who took turns to commend the nine-man ad hoc committee for a job well done, however, called for quick consideration of the Private-Public Partnership (PPP) scheme.

Hon. Setonji David, the Acting Chairman, House Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development said: “there are so many arrangements going on in PPP that the house does not know about’’.

The Deputy Majority Leader, Hon. Muyiwa Jimoh, said that PPP should be on its own and not operate under any ministry.

The Speaker of the House, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, also commended Yishawu and members of the committee for thorough scrutiny of the budget within a short time frame.

The house passed the bill after Obasa conducted a voice vote on each of the sectoral allocations for ministries, departments and agencies.

Obasa directed the Acting Clerk of the House, Mr Azeez Sanni, to send a copy of the bill to Gov. Akinwnmi Ambode for his assent.

The house adjourned its plenary until Feb. 1

Gov. Ambode had on Dec. 11, 2017 presented the proposed “Budget of Progress and Development’’ to the assembly.

On Dec.18, the house set up a nine-man committee to scrutinise the budget proposal of N1.046 trillion.

The budget size, which represents a 28.67 per cent increase over the 2017 budget of N812 billion, is the highest in the history of the state.

Meanwhile, a Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti, on Tuesday declared that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) could not probe states’ finances without a report of indictment from states’ Houses of Assembly.

The court made the declaration in a judgment delivered in a suit filed by the Ekiti State Government against the EFCC, the Inspector-General of Police, the Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, the Clerk, the state’s Auditor General and the Accountant General.

Other defendants are the chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Skye Bank, Access Bank, Zenith Bank, First City Monument Bank, Diamond, Keystone, Heritage, Fidelity, First Bank and Union Bank.

The state’s Attorney General filed the suit after the commission sent invitation letters to some government’s officials seeking details of some of the state’s financial transactions.

The EFCC also sent letters to the banks seeking financial books of the state in their custody.

In a counter-move, the state wrote letters to the banks asking them not to oblige the commission with the information.

Justice Taiwo O. Taiwo held that the financial institutions were not entitled to submit, to release to, or in any manner whatsoever to disclose to any person, body or agency, including the EFCC and the IG, or any other investigating body, any document, financial information relating to the bank accounts of the state government.

The court also held that the EFCC could not usurp the oversight functions vested in state House of Assembly under Sections 128 and 129 of the 1999 Constitution to initiate a probe or criminal proceedings against a state official.

According to him, only the state legislature is vested with oversight and investigation roles over state finances, appropriation and implementation after receiving a formal report from the Auditor General based on financial records from the Accountant General.

Referring to section 125 (c) of the constitution, Justice Taiwo agreed that, “In a federation, the component states do not play the role of an errand boy to the Federal Government. Each government exists not as an appendage of other government.

“It is unassailable that there is the separation of powers. Under a federal system, sections 4, 5 and 6 of the 1999 Constitution provides the separation of powers which guarantees independence and disallows encroachment of powers.

“The power for control of fund, financial outflow, appropriation is vested in the House of Assembly. It is the Auditor General of the state that has the power to conduct check on all government corporations and to submit his report to the assembly.”

Justice Taiwo emphasised that nobody including the court could read other meaning into the clear provision of the constitution.

“The assembly has the responsibilities on the management of funds by the executives. They have the responsibility to ensure fund management, cut wastages, reject corruption and ensure probity.

“The first defendant (the EFCC) is bound to operate within the constitution and cannot operate like the ‘lord of the manor.’ Its statutory duty is not a licence to contravene the constitution.

“I can’t by any stretch of imagination see how the statutory functions of the (the EFCC) can extend to a state in a federation under any guise to the extent that the eight to 18 defendants (banks) will be directed to submit bank details.

“Yes, the first defendant can investigate any person or corporate organisation, what it can’t do is to usurp the powers of the assembly.

“The Federal Government cannot impose its statutory duties on a state in flagrant disobedient of the constitution. The prosecution should not ride roughshod of the constitution. It is the duty of judges to ensure they don’t listen to sentiment of the public.

“I resolve all issues in favour of the plaintiff. I grant all reliefs sought by the plaintiff in view of the facts that they are live issues.”

Reacting to the judgment, counsel for the Speaker, House of Assembly and the clerk, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said the judgment had made it clear “that the EFCC is not an omnibus, rampaging policeman or guardian agent that monitors state’s finances, receipts, expenditure and use of state finances and that, that is the job of the state House of Assembly in line with the doctrine of the separation of powers, horizontally and vertically.

“I also advise the EFCC to always toe the path of  the law in discharging its duties.”

The EFCC, however, rejected the court judgment,  insisting that it would take the matter before the Court of Appeal.

In a terse text message, the spokesman for the EFCC,  Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said, “The commission has applied for a certified true copy of the ruling of the Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti.

“We will study it and avail ourselves of the right of appeal. The EFCC is confident that the judgment cannot stand.”

Additional report from Citizen