NFIU Moves To Bar Govs From Access To LG Funds

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has barred banks from allowing transactions from State Joint Local Government Accounts (SJLGAs) without monies first reaching a particular local government account. PREMIER NEWS report that this bar governors access to LG funds as currently obtained in most states. A statement issued in Abuja yesterday by the Acting Chief Media Analyst of the NFIU, Mr. Ahmed Dikko, said from June 1, 2019, any bank that flouts the directive will be sanctioned 100 per cent locally and internationally. The NFIU said a new set of guidelines to reduce crime vulnerability created by cash withdrawals from LG funds throughout Nigeria has been released to CBN, EFCC, ICPC, banks and financial institutions.  The Unit said the joint account system was meant “as a collection account,” meaning that “the amount standing to the credit of the local government councils of a state shall be distributed among the local government councils of that state” and not for other purposes. “Cash withdrawal and transactions from State Joint Local Government Accounts poses biggest corruption, money laundering and security threats at the grassroots levels,” it stated.