ALGON accuses AGF on LG autonomy stalemate

The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has accused the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation of obstructing the implementation of local government autonomy, despite a Supreme Court ruling supporting direct funding for all 774 local councils.
Ahead of a Federal High Court hearing in Abuja on Tuesday, ALGON Secretary General, Muhammed Abubakar, criticized the Attorney General’s directive to the Central Bank of Nigeria to open uniform accounts for local governments, arguing that it undermines the intent and spirit of the court’s decision.
“The Supreme Court clearly affirmed that local governments are an independent tier of government. Yet, we’re seeing actions from the AGF’s office that contradict that autonomy,” Abubakar told our correspondent in Abuja.
ALGON has filed a lawsuit—suit number FHC/ABJ/05/353/2025—against the Attorney General of the Federation and several federal institutions, demanding the full inclusion of local governments in the Federation Account Allocation Committee and the right to independently manage their finances.
The suit also lists as defendants the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Abubakar Bagudu; the Accountant-General of the Federation; the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL); and several commercial banks.
Although the Supreme Court ruled on July 11, 2024, that allocations must be paid directly to local government accounts—effectively granting them financial autonomy—implementation has remained stalled.
According to ALGON, the CBN is now requiring each local council to submit two years of audited financial reports before accounts can be opened—a condition they argue was never stipulated in the court’s ruling.
Abubakar said, “After the judgment, we approached the AGF’s office, requesting that local governments be allowed to open accounts with commercial banks of their choice. But the AGF instead directed the CBN to open accounts on their behalf. That defeats the idea of autonomy.”
He added, “This directive essentially centralises what should be a decentralised process. It’s a contradiction. We believe true autonomy means each local government should be able to choose its own bank and receive its allocation directly, without intermediaries or imposed conditions.”
Abubakar said months after the Supreme Court judgment, no local government had started receiving funds directly from FAAC.
ALGON says its push in court aims not just to enforce autonomy on paper but to ensure its practical implementation.
“We’re not asking that the money come to ALGON,” Abubakar stressed. “We’re saying it should go to each LGA—in the banks they choose.”
When contacted for a reaction, the Special Adviser to the President on Communication and Publicity, Office of the AGF and Minister of Justice, Kamarudeen Ogundele, said he could not comment because the matter is in court.