Local governments to receive direct federal allocations by January – Presidency

The Presidency has announced that starting at the end of January, local government areas across Nigeria will begin receiving their allocations directly from the Federal Allocation Account Committee (FAAC), marking a significant move towards local government autonomy.
Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, made this announcement during an interview on Arise News Thursday night. He emphasized President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to enforcing the Supreme Court’s landmark July 2024 ruling, which declared state control over local government funds unconstitutional.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agbim, the Supreme Court ruled that local government allocations should be paid either directly or through the states. However, due to the inefficacy of the latter approach, the court mandated direct payments to local councils.
The ruling followed a case filed by the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), advocating for the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas. Although the ruling was made, its implementation had been delayed to ensure the proper mechanisms were in place. Dare confirmed that these arrangements are now finalized, and local governments will begin receiving their funds directly by the end of January.
“We have a President who ensures local government autonomy. I spoke to a local government chairman, who said, ‘Oh, I will be getting N2.9bn, instead of the N200m I was getting before’.
“From the end of this month, LG will receive the money directly,” Dare explained.
Dare also called for greater scrutiny of state and local government financial management. “One state collected N499 billion last year—nearly four times its previous allocation—yet there’s little to show for it,” he noted.
He stressed that while the Federal Government often faces criticism, attention must also shift to how states and local governments utilize their resources.
“The framers of our constitution created the three tiers of government for a reason. It’s time to hold states and local governments accountable,” Dare added.