State governors are making fresh moves to delay the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy by opposing the direct disbursement of federal allocations to local councils.
During a recent meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House in Abuja, some governors expressed concerns about routing local government funds through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). They argued that local councils have outstanding debts that should be addressed before any direct disbursement.
Sources from the presidency revealed that the meeting, which followed an Iftar dinner, was part of the governors’ efforts to negotiate a more favorable disbursement process.
“The governors don’t want the Federal Government to control the process. They are pushing for allocations to be deposited into commercial bank accounts instead of the CBN to prevent direct oversight by the Accountant-General,” an official disclosed.
The Supreme Court had ruled on July 11, 2024, that local government allocations must be paid directly into their accounts, bypassing state governments. The ruling also stated that only democratically elected local government leaders—not caretaker committees—could access federal allocations.
To enforce the ruling, the CBN mandated all local governments to submit a two-year account audit before receiving funds and has begun profiling local government chairmen and signatories to their accounts.
However, opposition from state governors has created delays, with reports emerging that the CBN has refused to open accounts for some councils due to non-compliance with auditing requirements. The National Union of Local Government Employees has warned against any attempt to obstruct financial autonomy for local governments.
Meanwhile, the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria stated that it has yet to receive any formal communication from the CBN regarding account openings, as the battle over local government autonomy continues.
