Despite the Supreme Court judgement of July 11, 2024, granting financial autonomy to the country’s 774 local government areas, state governors across the federation are yet to abolish the controversial state/ LG joint accounts.
Consequently, the third tier of government still gets its federal allocation through the joint account as against the direct payment ordered by the apex court.
However, investigations conducted by LEADERSHIP Weekend in the nation’s six geopolitical zones showed that most state governments have initiated moves to obey the Supreme Court judgement.
While some state governors have directed their LG chairmen to activate their treasury system to implement the ruling, others have adopted what they described as “guided implementation,” citing the councils’ lack of capacity to go full swing.
A top LG administrator in one of the North Central states told LEADERSHIP Weekend that the local governments have been given three months to perfect certain account documents before they can receive direct allocations.
He said, “We have been given a grace period of three months to link the local government accounts with the National Identification Number (NIN) and the Treasury Single Account (TSA). After meeting these criteria, we can get our allocations directly from the federation account. In July, we received our allocations through the state/LG Joint Account.”
He added that the local governments are ready to utilise the autonomy granted them.
In Kwara State, the problem of local government administration started in the administrations of President Muhammadu Buhari and former Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed when there were zero allocations to both the states and local government areas.
During that period the local government areas could not even pay staff salaries in full, not to talk of executing any developmental projects.
But when the administration of the incumbent Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq came on board in 2019, it injected life into the local government administration.
The AbdulRazaq administration not only cleared the backlog of salaries owed local government staff by the former administration, but also ensured the regular payment of their salaries in full.
However, the government’s inability to conduct local government elections since 2019 due to legal obstacles was a major setback for the local government administration in the state, as it was administered by unelected officials who were not accountable to the people.
LEADERSHIP Weekend observed that the local government areas in the state have structures that could aid good governance at that level and support the autonomy recently granted to them.
The local government areas have their respective secretariats: administration, works, finance, and health departments.
The chairman of Kwara State Local Government Service Commission, Alhaji Umar Shero, said the local governments are fully prepared for autonomy, adding that “this is what they have been longing for.”
On structures, Shero said the local government areas have their secretariats and various units and departments just like the state governments.
He said the legislative arm of government will oversee the financial activities of the local government administrations at that level and by the Office of the Local Government Auditor General.
In an interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend, an assistant chief planning officer of the Kano State Ministry of Local Government Affairs Garba Bello said the state is prepared for the financial autonomy of the LGAs.
He said the state has put financial memoranda on the ground for financial regulation to ensure checks and balances.
According to him, the memoranda spelt out how expenditure should be incurred or spent, with limits for local government chairman’s expenditure not exceeding N500,000. Where it exceeds, the councillors would have to give their approval.
The Ekiti State government has said there is no cause for concern over the financial autonomy recently granted to the local government.
The commissioner for local government affairs, Chief Folorunso Olabode, told LEADERSHIP Weekend in Ado Ekiti that the councils had always been autonomous.
Olabode said, “We don’t have issues with financial autonomy. The local government areas in Ekiti state are autonomous in terms of their finances.
“The governor has nothing to do with it, and due process is always followed in their spending”.
He said the state was recently commended by the national leadership of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees for its openness in managing and administering local government.
All 774 Councils Are Prepared For Financial Autonomy – ALGON President
Meanwhile, the national president of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Aminu Muazu Maifata, has declared that the 774 LGAs in the country are prepared for full autonomy granted by the Supreme Court.
He said the issue of autonomy is not new to the councils; it existed before its eventual breach.
According to him, shortly after the judgement, the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) met in Nasarawa State in July to brainstorm on strategies ahead of implementing the verdict.
“We are fully aware of the responsibility and the weight of our mandate as spelt out in the constitution, and I can assure you that the third tier of government is prepared and ready for the independent it has consistently clamoured for and got.
“And one thing we have going for us is the calibre of persons manning the councils as executive chairmen. They are persons who have vast experience in their various fields and left legacies of service where they previously worked, be it in public and private sector. So, they are ready to bring these experiences to bear now that there will be no meddlesomeness in their activities,” he assured.
He said the chairmen during the NEC vowed to prove skeptics wrong by working assiduously to transform the grassroots while efficiently using resources that will come their way.
On whether there are strong structure at the councils to leverage on, he explained that ALGON as a body is initiating capacity building for all actors and stakeholders to drive the process, beginning from the legislative arms and civil servants.
“Beyond that, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission displays our allocations on their website. Given that situation, we must ensure that every kobo is accounted for,” he said.
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