The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria has accused the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation of frustrating the implementation of local government autonomy, despite a Supreme Court ruling in favour of direct funding for all 774 local councils.
Speaking ahead of a Federal High Court hearing in Abuja on Tuesday, ALGON Secretary General, Muhammed Abubakar, said the AGF’s directive for the Central Bank of Nigeria to open uniform accounts for all local governments undermines the spirit of the court’s decision.
“The Supreme Court clearly affirmed that local governments are an independent tier of government. Yet, we’re seeing actions from the AGF’s office that contradict that autonomy,” Abubakar told our correspondent in Abuja.
ALGON had taken legal action against the AGF and several other federal institutions in suit FHC/ABJ/05/353/2025, seeking full inclusion of local governments in the Federation Account Allocation Committee and the right to independently manage their funds.
The suit also names the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Abubakar Bagudu; Accountant-General of the Federation; the CBN; NNPCL; and commercial banks as defendants.
Although the Supreme Court ruled on July 11, 2024 that local government allocations should be paid directly to their accounts, granting them full financial autonomy, implementation has stalled.
The CBN reportedly demanded that each council provide two years of audited financial reports before accounts could be opened, a requirement ALGON says was not part of the court ruling.
Abubakar said, “After the judgment, we approached the AGF’s office, requesting that local governments be allowed to open accounts with commercial banks of their choice. But the AGF instead directed the CBN to open accounts on their behalf. That defeats the idea of autonomy.”
He added, “This directive essentially centralises what should be a decentralised process. It’s a contradiction. We believe true autonomy means each local government should be able to choose its own bank and receive its allocation directly, without intermediaries or imposed conditions.”
Abubakar said months after the Supreme Court judgment, no local government had started receiving funds directly from FAAC.
ALGON says its push in court aims not just to enforce autonomy on paper but to ensure its practical implementation.
“We’re not asking that the money come to ALGON,” Abubakar stressed. “We’re saying it should go to each LGA—in the banks they choose.”
When contacted for a reaction, the Special Adviser to the President on Communication and Publicity, Office of the AGF and Minister of Justice, Kamarudeen Ogundele, said he could not comment because the matter is in court.
“It is sub judice to speak on a matter before a court,” he said. (Punch)
