Four months after the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional state governors’ holding of funds allocated to local government areas (LGAs) and granted the third tier of government financial autonomy, the federal government is yet to act on the celebrated judgement.
The seven-man panel of the apex court, in the judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, had declared that the 774 LGAs in the country should henceforth manage their funds.
The apex court held that the power of the government is divided into three arms: federal, state and the local governments, and therefore declared that the third level must enjoy financial independence.
LEADERSHIP Sunday investigation revealed that the federal government has yet to implement the Supreme Court ruling as the Ministry of Finance was yet to give directive on the distribution of the council funds.
The Supreme Court’s decision, which stipulates that LGAs without elected officials should not receive allocations from the federation account, was expected to reshape the financial management of local governments.
Top government officials told LEADERSHIP Sunday that the necessary directive from the Federal Ministry of Finance was still pending, resulting in continued uncertainty and delays.
Before the attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), gave further clarification last Monday, there were reports that the federal government and state governors had entered into a three-month moratorium that any state that failed to conduct election at the third tier of government would have its councils’ allocations from the federal purse stopped.
Counting from the time of the judgement of the Supreme Court and purported three-month moratorium, all states were expected to have conducted their local government elections by the end of October.
Consequently, several states of the federation rushed to organise council elections, which were mostly adjudged as flawed and won by the ruling parties. The elections were largely boycotted by the opposition parties, which expressed lack of confidence in the state electoral bodies.
Fagbemi had told newsmen after he was honoured with an honorary degree during the 12th convocation and 15th Founder’s Day of the Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) that the federal government did not give state governments a moratorium in the implementation of the Supreme Court judgement on full financial autonomy of the local government areas.
He explained that there was a delay in the full implementation of the apex court verdict due to the measures being put in place by the federal government towards achieving a successful implementation.
According to him, there was no going back in the implementation of the judgement for the 774 local government areas to be given financial autonomy in order to ensure development at the grassroots level.
He warned states not to commit contempt of court by disobeying the verdict of the Supreme Court, adding that the administration of President Bola Tinubu was determined to ensure that all duly constituted and elected local government administrators received their allocations directly from the federation account.
When LEADERSHIP Sunday investigated the measures that the government had so far taken, it was discovered that the judgement had not been gazetted for implementation.
Credible sources said as the implementing party, the federal government is responsible for enforcing the court’s decision. This includes either withholding funds from LGAs without elected officials or directing the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to remit funds directly to LGAs that meet the court’s criteria.
Till date, no clear action has been taken, thereby stalling the court’s directive and leaving local governments without a proper financial pathway.
Efforts to gain clarity from the Ministry of Finance were met with silence. The director of information at the ministry, Mr Mohammed Manga, did not respond to calls or messages sent to his official contact lines regarding government’s plans to enforce the judgment.
In the absence of guidance from the ministry, officials in the OAGF have been unable to act. A top official in the accountant-general’s office said, “We operate based on directives from the Ministry of Finance. They are the ones to tell us where to pay the money to.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) proceeded with its usual disbursement of monthly allocations to states earlier this month, just before the deadline set by the court’s ruling.
The allocation that was approved on October 17 did not reflect any adjustments in accordance with the Supreme Court’s mandate, and sources within the OAGF indicate hope that the matter will be resolved before the next FAAC meeting to avoid further disruption in the revenue-sharing structure.
The delay has raised concerns among stakeholders and local government officials, who expected the ruling to support accountability and strengthen governance at the local level.
Yet, with the federal government’s inaction, LGAs without elected officials are left without financial clarity, unable to access the funds necessary for operations and local development projects.
Observers are now calling on the Ministry of Finance to take swift action, either to enforce the court’s directive or clarify its stance on how funds should be allocated moving forward.
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