The Federal Government of Nigeria is set to begin direct payment of statutory allocations to Local Government Areas by November 2024.
This information was disclosed by the National President, National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Hakeem Ambali, on Sunday during an interview with journalists.
Also, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission assured of its commitment to diligently monitoring and tracking expenditures of the 774 LG chairmen from the revenue disbursement allocated from the Federal Government every month.
The latest development marks a significant turning point in the implementation of LG autonomy as mandated by the Supreme Court and ahead of the October 31st deadline set for states to conduct LG elections.
In May, the Federal Government, represented by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, filed a lawsuit to challenge the governors’ authority to receive and withhold federal allocations meant for Local Government Areas.
The suit sought to prevent state governors from unilaterally dissolving democratically elected local government councils and establishing caretaker committees.
The Supreme Court, on July 11, 2024, gave a landmark judgment affirming the financial autonomy of the 774 LGs in the country and ruled that governors could no longer control funds meant for the councils.
The seven-member Supreme Court panel, led by Justice Garba Lawal, ruled that it was illegal and unconstitutional for governors to manage and withhold LG funds.
The apex court also directed the Accountant-General of the Federation to pay LG allocations directly to their accounts, as it declared the non-remittance of funds by the 36 states unconstitutional.
