The Adamawa State Government has dragged the federal government before the Supreme Court to seek interpretation of Section 162 of the constitution.
TheHintsNews reports that the apex court had in its ruling on Thursday said it was an act of gross misconduct paying local government allocation through states.
Justice Emmanuel Agim-led seven-man panel also upheld the position of the federal government that state governors lack authority under the law to arbitrarily dissolve democratically-elected local governments councils and set up caretaker committees in their place as ubiquitously practiced.
However, in what appears to be a fight back from the governors, the Governor of Adamawa state, Ahmadu Fintiri said the state government is seeking the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Section 162 (1), (2) and (3) of the constitution regarding the distribution of revenue from the Federation Account.
Fintiri in a statement issued Friday by his Chief Press Secretary, Humwashi Wonosikou argued that the entire sum in the Federation Account must be distributed among all levels of government without deductions, except as permitted by law.
Fintiri said the President must comply strictly with the Constitution in managing and distributing revenue.
He added: “All revenue collected, except those exempted by the Constitution, must be paid into the Federation Account for distribution to all tiers of government.
“The federal government has no discretion to withhold or deduct revenue for any purpose not expressly permitted by the Constitution.
“In essence, the Adamawa State Government is seeking a declaration that: The Federal Government must distribute the entire revenue from the Federation Account without deductions, except as permitted by law.
“Any deductions or withholdings made without constitutional backing are unconstitutional. The federal government’s discretion to manage revenue is limited to only what is expressly permitted by the Constitution.”
The state government is seeking a strict interpretation of the Constitution to ensure that revenue distribution is done in a transparent and constitutional manner, without arbitrary deductions or withholdings by the federal government.