Local government chairmen in Nigeria have expressed concern over the continued delay in the direct allocation of federal funds to local government councils, despite a Supreme Court ruling issued four months ago.
In July, the Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Government should begin paying monthly allocations directly into the accounts of the 774 local government councils across the country.
However, four months later, the allocations are still being channeled through joint state-local government accounts managed by the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee.
Following the ruling, the Federal Government acknowledged the need to address operational issues before implementing the decision and set a three-month deadline to resolve these concerns.
That period ended in October, but the necessary changes have yet to be made.
Obiora Orji, spokesman for the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), confirmed that direct payments to local governments have not yet started.
“Everyone is waiting for it. It cannot be hidden; once the payments begin, it will be obvious,” Orji stated.
Akeem Ambali, National President of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), explained that the delay was due to the lack of approval from President Bola Tinubu for full implementation of local government financial autonomy.
He mentioned that NULGE had submitted its position paper to the inter-ministerial committee set up by the Federal Government to facilitate the Supreme Court’s ruling.
This committee, chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, has concluded its meetings and submitted a technical report to President Tinubu for approval.
“The committee’s recommendations have been submitted to the President, and we are eagerly awaiting the start of implementation,” Ambali said.
In response, Bawa Mokwa, Director of Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation said the process for direct disbursement to local governments was still ongoing.
He confirmed that state governments continued to receive allocations on behalf of local governments until the transition to direct payments is finalized.
Mokwa, however, could not provide a specific timeline for when direct payments to local councils would begin.
