On Thursday, Nigeria’s Supreme Court declared that it is unconstitutional for state governors to hold onto funds meant for Local Government (LG) administrations.
In its lead judgement, read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court noted that state governments have been refusing financial autonomy for local governments for over two decades and consequently directed that Local Government allocations from the Federation Account should be paid directly to them and not to state government coffers.
He dismissed the defendants’ preliminary objections (state governors) and ruled that the country’s 774 local government councils should manage their funds themselves.
In the last few months, calls for local government autonomy have amplified in Nigeria. President Bola Tinubu also supported the calls. In May, the Federal Government, through the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, sued the 36 state governors over alleged misconduct of local government funds.
Currently, the Federal Government gets 52.68%, and states get 26.72%. In comparison, LGs get 20.60% of the country’s monthly revenue allocated by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), which operates under the Presidency and disbursed by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).