Significant obstacles to the execution of the July 11, 2024, Supreme Court ruling on the autonomy of local government councils have been noted by Nigeria’s office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
The government agency claims that the two main obstacles are LGAs’ failure to provide account information and that determining whether LGAs are democratically elected is a need for getting the direct payment.
The minutes of the Federation Account Allocation Committee Technical Sub-Committee meeting, which were acquired over the weekend, included this information.
AGF Oluwatoyin Madein presided over the meeting.
According to people familiar with the situation, negotiations to resolve the setback have already begun between the OAGF, the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, and the Minister of Justice.
Only 25 local government councils in Delta State have provided their account information for direct payment out of the 774 local government councils, according to the minutes.
“So far, only local governments in Delta State have provided account details.
“However, consultation with the Attorney-General of the Federation on the modalities of the submission of the accounts was still ongoing,” it said.
Addressing the challenge, Madein said a system was set to be implemented, but the initial challenge was in determining which local government councils had constitutionally elected chairmen.
This basic step was still unclear, she said.
“Additionally, for those with properly elected leadership, the question arose as to what mechanisms would be deployed to ensure they receive direct allocations.
“This was because numerous complexities needed to be addressed,” she said.
Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria had commenced profiling the chairmen and signatories to the bank accounts of the 774 local government areas in the country as part of processes to commence local government autonomy.
In a notice, Kofo Salam-Alada, the CBN’s Director of Legal Services, clarified that this was required to guarantee financial accountability.
“This is all about standard procedure in the form of KYC (Know Your Customer). Anyone who will be a signatory to the account must be profiled.
“The process is ongoing, and we are collaborating with the AGF’s office. We have also written to the LGAs,” he said.
However, the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria said it had received no communication from the apex bank concerning the opening of bank accounts.
ALGON Chairman in Abia State and Chairman of the Mayor Isuikwuato LGA, Chinesu Ekeke, said the CBN had yet to invite any LG chairman for signatory verification.
“No, we have not been invited for signatory verification. I am just hearing it. I have not heard it from any other source.
“I have not seen any publication to that effect, even at ALGON headquarters; nobody has informed us,” he stated.
The CBN was previously cautioned by the National Union of Local Government Employees not to assist state governors in compromising the financial independence of local government councils.
Recalls that on July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court upheld the nation’s 774 local government regions’ financial independence and barred governors from exercising further authority over funds intended for the councils.
The highest court ruled that the 36 states’ failure to transfer cash was illegal and ordered the Accountant-General of the Federation to pay local government allocations straight to their accounts.
However, the financial autonomy has not yet been implemented eight months after the ruling.
