STATUTORY monthly allocations will not be directly disbursed to the 774 local governments this month by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
It is due to their inability to meet the deadline for the submission of account details, it was learnt yesterday.
The councils’ January funds would be disbursed through the states, a source told this newspaper.
However, according to the source, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and Primary Health Centre (PHC) would be funded directly from the Federation Account.
FAAC has released N860.252 billion to the state governments for January, out of which N498.498 billion belongs to them and N361.754 billion to the local governments.
A FAAC official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the commission transferred the January allocations to state governments because the councils could not meet the administrative requirements for funds disbursement.
He said: “The January allocation did not go to the local governments but to their state accounts.
“If they have started submitting their accounts, their February allocations will go to them.
“The January allocation has been paid to the state accounts already. That means they didn’t submit their details on time.
“If the councils can move fast and tidy up the loose ends early, they will get their funds directly from next month.
“That will signal the commencement of their autonomy as desired by the Bola Tinubu administration.’’
Another FAAC official said the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) and other stakeholders were working hard to address the delays in fully complying with the apex court judgment.
He said: ‘’I learnt the process of creating accounts is what is holding the process, but the Federal Government is determined to make sure that local government autonomy becomes a reality. I can assure you that things are moving in the right direction.’’
To prevent governors from mismanaging council funds, an Inter-Ministerial Committee headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, is developing a framework to enforce the Supreme Court judgment.
According to the official, the template will authorise the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) to deduct funds meant for primary education, healthcare, and other constitutional responsibilities of local government directly from FAAC allocations and release them to the relevant agencies.
He said: “They (LGAs) have certain obligations like counterpart funding of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) primary schools, health initiatives, and some other responsibilities where they are supposed to contribute a certain portion.
“Eventually, what will happen is that some of these funds will likely be deducted at source and transferred to those respective agencies.”
The OAGF has been collaborating with state governments to assist the LGAs in developing the template aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability in the disbursement and use of council funds.
Despite the progress being made, the activities of the Akume-led inter-ministerial committee have been slowed down by the ongoing budget defence and other pressing engagements involving key government officials.
The source, however, said technical members of the committee are meeting over the template.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had in May last year instituted a case in the Supreme Court seeking full autonomy for local governments.
He prayed the court to stop governors from unlawful dissolution of democratically elected council officials.
Fagbemi accused governors of abuse of power, urging the apex court to give an order expressly stating that the funds of LGAs from the Federation Account should be paid directly to them rather than through the state governments.
Many of the governors, through their Attorneys-General, contested the suit.
On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court granted financial autonomy to the councils, setting a precedent for grassroots governance.
The ruling aims to curb the undue control over local government funds by governors and ensure transparency and accountability in financial disbursements.
To implement the judgment, the Federal Government directed all local governments to open dedicated bank accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the direct transfer of their monthly allocations.
The directive was to bypass state governments entirely and place financial resources under the management of local governments.
Last week, Bello Lawal Yandaki, national president of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), assured stakeholders that there was no cause for alarm over the failure of the councils to open the accounts.
He attributed the delay to procedural issues on the part of the LGAs.