The federal government’s renewed efforts to implement the financial autonomy granted local governments by the Supreme Court are being frustrated by council chairmen across the country.
On July 11, 2024, the apex court granted autonomy to the councils and the federal government followed suit by setting up a committee on the implementation of the judgement.
The committee recommended various measures to the government for the execution of the verdict.
And between December last year and February this year, the federal government has attempted twice through the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) to send the councils’ allocations directly to them without success, as the third tier of government failed to comply with the directive to open accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
It was learnt that apart from the 25 local government areas (LGA) in Delta State, the rest of the 774 LGAs in the federation are yet to meet the requirements for the direct remittance of their funds.
When FAAC shared N1.703 trillion for January 2025 last week, the councils’ share of the federal revenue was paid into the local government-state joint accounts.
When LEADERSHIP Weekend contacted the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) on the development, the director of information Bawa Mokwa confirmed that all the LGAs were asked to submit certain documentation for the activation of their existing accounts with the CBN for their federal allocations to be sent directly to them.
Mokwa said the government was waiting for all the local governments to conclude the process of activating the existing payment channels opened for them with the CBN during the military era.
He said there is no deadline for the completion of the process, adding that the activation will be done when it is concluded.
He said, “There was an existing channel when they were paying local government directly through federal pay offices. That means they have an account in the Central Bank already using federal pay offices. It’s been a long since they dismantled that system. It was done during the military era.
“So, for the government to use those existing channels, they need to be reactivated. It is the process of putting these channels in place that is ongoing.
“There is no time bound to say if local government B didn’t do it, they won’t give them the money; nothing like that. It’s going to be conclusive by ensuring that the 774 local government areas meet the requirements. The moment they finish, they will activate the channel.
“So, the issue of saying local government B didn’t do it on time and so would not get paid does not arise. They will do it at once. They will package the system and then activate it. The timeline is when they finish it. The moment they complete it, it will be activated for payments to be made to them,” he stated.
When our correspondents contacted council chairmen in some states of the federation, they said the process for the direct disbursement of the funds to them had been initiated.
In Sokoto State, the state chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. Abdullahi Kalenjeni, said they would soon join other states to comply with the directive from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to open accounts with the CBN for their direct disbursement of funds.
Though Kalenjeni was evasive when asked why they have not complied, he said efforts are ongoing to comply with the order.
He, however, said that “activities at the grassroots are at the lowest ebb, as the councils rely on the federal allocation to do programmes that impact the rural populace. We are working towards completing the paperwork for us to access the funds and continue impacting on the lives of our people.”
In Nasarawa State, the 13 local government areas are yet to comply with the directive to open their accounts with the CBN.
The state’s chairman of ALGON, Mr. Safiyanu Isa Andaha, simply said “the process is on.”
He declined to speak further on the development.
In Cross River State, the ALGON chairman who doubles as the boss of Yakurr local government area, Mr.Yabila Inyang, did not give concrete reasons for why the council chairmen were yet to send their account details to the apex bank.
He said the chairmen was awaiting instructions from ALGON headquarters in Abuja on how to deal with the situation.
Inyang said, “Officially, I have not been briefed on what to say on the issue. Once I am briefed on what to say, I will do exactly what is expected of me. Unless a letter is sent from our headquarters with an authorisation on what to do, that is when I can speak on the matter.”
The Bauchi State chapter of ALGON declined to comment on the state of compliance with the federal government’s directive.
State ALGON chairman, Mahmood Baba Ma’aji, neither picked calls nor responded to short messages sent to his mobile phone.
In Enugu State, some of council chairmen said mechanisms were already in place to submit their account details to the accountant-general of the federation.
They, however, said Governor Peter Mbah had not been interferring with their allocations since he assumed office.
The chairmen, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that they enjoy full autonomy and had been using their funds to develop their areas.
“We have a wonderful governor who is not interested in local government funds. So, we have autonomy and mechanisms are already in place to comply with the directive,” one of them said.
In Lagos State, the LGAs have not submitted or opened bank accounts with the CBN to facilitate direct payment of council allocation.
Efforts to ascertain why were futile as the officials kept mum on the issue.
At both Ikeja local government area and Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), the officials insisted that the matter should be treated officially and a letter written to the authorities on the request.
When our correspondent put a call through to one of the officials of Egbe-Idimu LCDA, he stated that such information was sensitive and asked that a formal letter be written to the council.
“This is a confidential report and I cannot give you the information because you are a journalist and you should know this ought to be official. Please do the needful and let’s see it in black and white, not by texts or phone calls,” he said.
At the office of Ikeja local government area chairman, an official said he was not in the position to speak on the matter. (Leadership Newspaper)
