Supreme Court: A Promise Betrayed.
On July 11, 2024, Nigeria’s Supreme Court ruled unequivocally: LGA allocations must be paid directly from the Federation Account, bypassing state governments (Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi vs. 36 state governors). This decision was supposed to restore financial autonomy to Nigeria’s 774 LGAs. But a year on, the ruling remains criminally unimplemented.
₦3.77 Trillion Allocated to LGAs, Zero Direct Payment
NEITI’s 2024 report shows FAAC disbursed ₦15.26 trillion across government tiers:
Federal Government: ₦4.95 trillion
State Governments: ₦5.81 trillion
Local Governments: ₦3.77 trillion
Despite this surge, not one kobo of the ₦3.77 trillion meant for LGAs reached their bank accounts directly. All funds were funneled into state-controlled joint accounts, flagrantly contravening the Supreme Court’s directive.
Monthly Allocations via States (Estimated)
Available FAAC data shows the following monthly sums passed through state channels:
July 2024: ₦343.7 bn
August 2024: ₦306.5 bn
December 2024: ₦361.8 bn
Together, these and other months contribute to over ₦3.4 trillion diverted, none reaching LGAs directly.
State-by-State FAAC Rankings (2024)
NEITI data reveals stark disparities:
Top recipients: Lagos (₦531.1 bn), Delta (₦450.4 bn), Rivers (₦349.9 bn), Akwa Ibom (₦329.2 bn), Bayelsa (₦270.4 bn)
Lowest recipients: Nasarawa (₦108.3 bn), Ebonyi (₦110.0 bn), Ekiti (₦111.9 bn)
Each state’s FAAC total includes funds allocated to its LGAs, even though those LGAs never received their direct share.
Voices of Concern: Expert Commentary
SERAP’s Kolawole Oluwadare: “The judgment was crystal clear, yet political expediency triumphed over justice.”
NULGE’s Aliyu Haruna Kankara: “The two-year audit condition is a smokescreen to stall autonomy.”
Barr. Malachy Ugwumadu (CDHR): “The court’s ruling was killed in the womb of Nigerian politics.”
Barr. Leke Ojo, SAN: “Tinubu’s act was populist theatre, not real reform.”
National Consequences: Grassroots Betrayed
LGA chairmen across all states are stripped of power, unable to execute projects or serve constituents.
Critical services, schools, clinics, local roads (e.g., the Nekede–Ihiagwa–Obinze road in Imo), markets, sanitation, are collapsing.
Billions designated for community development vanish into state coffers.
Imo and other States: What the Numbers Show
NEITI does not supply a full breakdown per LGA, but we know:
All states include LGA funding in their FAAC share, yet no state released LGA funds directly to councils.
Imo State, with 27 LGAs, received approximately ₦755.6 billion in 2024, none of which was released directly to councils.
Other states mirror this pattern: within their FAAC totals, LGA allocations are never isolated into council accounts.
The Bigger Picture: Crisis of Federalism and Grassroots Democracy
Unexercised judicial power: The court ruling has become a decorative fallback, not enforceable law.
Governors continue to control grassroots resources, thwarting local leadership and service delivery.
Citizens suffer while promises of improved infrastructure and service delivery disappear.
Call to Action
Activists, CSOs, the Media, and Concerned Citizens, Take Responsibility
Demand immediate enforcement of the Supreme Court ruling.
Pressure the Attorney General, Accountant General, CBN, and FAAC to unblock direct payments to LGAs.
Publicize FAAC data by state to expose and shame the continued denial of LGA autonomy.
Organize grassroots campaigns: LGA funds must be held in council, not governor, accounts.
Viral Headline for Sharing:
“₦3.77 TRILLION IGNORED: How Governors Hijacked Local Government Funding Despite Supreme Court Order”
This is more than investigative reporting, it’s a mandate for action. Share. Debate. Demand justice. Our local governments, and democracy itself, depend on it.
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