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The Senate has called on the federal government to include local government councils from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), to ensure fair representation in the distribution of funds to the three tiers of government.
This resolution was passed on Tuesday following a motion sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, and presented during plenary by Kogi East Senator, Isah Jibirin.
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The upper chamber said the inclusion of local government representatives in FAAC would ensure full compliance with the July 2024 Supreme Court judgment that mandated the direct disbursement of federal allocations to local government areas, bypassing the state governments.
The local government is Nigeria’s third tier of government, and the closest to the grassroots.
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Despite being constitutionally recognised, the 774 local councils across the country have been financially crippled by state governments who routinely control their federal allocations through controversial state-local government joint accounts.
For more than two decades, successive governors have exercised significant control over local governments, including the arbitrary dissolution of elected council officials, a practice repeatedly declared illegal by various courts. Many local council chairpersons have complained about the lack of access to their funds, with allocations managed opaquely by state authorities.
In a ruling delivered in July 2024, the Supreme Court affirmed the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s local governments. It ordered the direct payment of federal allocations to local councils by the Accountant-General of the Federation, bypassing the state-level joint accounts.
The ruling was hailed by many Nigerians as a step toward deepening democracy and restoring grassroots governance. Although, many of the local governments are still battling with their financial autonomy due to the governor’s influence and control over them.
The motion
In the motion, the deputy senate president noted that by virtue of the Supreme Court’s judgment, funds were supposed to be released directly to local governments.
He argued that it is constitutional for local government representatives to now have a seat at the table where revenue is allocated.
Majority of the senators supported it when the motion was put to debate.
Kebbi Central Senator, Adamu Aliero, noted that the inclusion of local government representatives in FAAC would foster greater transparency and accountability.
“I fully support the idea of remitting whatever belongs to the local government to their account. This has been the case when we came in 1999. Governors in 1999 didn’t even know what the local government chairmen were getting because they were getting their money directly from the federation account,” he said.
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Plateau South Senator, Simon Lalong, shared experiences from his constituency, where local government officials reportedly had no knowledge of what funds were allocated to them over the past two years.
“A few weeks ago, I was in Jos, my state. I asked the local governments and they said in the last two years and they said in the last two years they don’t know what they’re giving them. The only avenue that will make them know what is given to them is this action.”
Benue North-west Senator, Titus Zam, described the motion as an important step towards strengthening Nigeria’s democratic structure, adding that true grassroots development could only occur when local councils are financially empowered.
The deputy senate president put the motion to vote and the majority of the senators supported it through voice vote.
Mr Jibrin thereafter approved it and directed that the resolution be communicated to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, who doubles as the Chairman of FAAC.
