Local government areas (LGAs) across Nigeria will begin receiving their federal allocations directly from the Federal Allocation Account Committee (FAAC) starting at the end of January.
Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, revealed this during an interview with Arise News on Thursday night.
He emphasized President Tinubu’s determination to uphold the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling delivered in July 2024, which deemed state control over local government funds unconstitutional.
In the Supreme Court judgment, Justice Emmanuel Agbim declared that funds for local governments must be paid directly or routed through states. However, the court noted that using states as intermediaries had proven ineffective and mandated direct payments to local councils.
This decision stemmed from a case brought forward by the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), advocating for the financial independence of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
Despite the ruling, the implementation of the judgment was delayed to establish proper mechanisms for the new system. According to Dare, these arrangements are now in place, and direct disbursement of funds to local governments will commence by the end of January.
Highlighting the transformative impact of this policy, Dare recounted a conversation with a local government chairman who expressed optimism about the changes.
“We have a President who ensures local government autonomy. I spoke to a local government chairman, who said, ‘Oh, I will be getting N2.9bn, instead of the N200m I was getting before’.
“From the end of this month, LG will receive the money directly,” Dare explained.
Dare also called for greater scrutiny of state and local government financial management. “One state collected N499 billion last year—nearly four times its previous allocation—yet there’s little to show for it,” he noted.
He stressed that while the Federal Government often faces criticism, attention must also shift to how states and local governments utilize their resources.
“The framers of our constitution created the three tiers of government for a reason. It’s time to hold states and local governments accountable,” Dare added.
