A three-month halt on local government autonomy may have been agreed to by the federal government and state governors due to concerns as to how it might impact operational viability and salary payments.
In view of this circumstance, local governments will not be able to implement the law mandating payments to be deposited into their accounts until October. Further, the federal government requested an injunction to stop governors and their representatives from accepting or using funding from local governments in the absence of a system of locally elected administration.
It claimed that the governors deliberately violated the 1999 Constitution by refusing to put in place a system like this. On June 13, the Supreme Court heard submissions from the parties involved. The state governments, represented by their various attorneys general, were against the lawsuit.
At the July meeting of FAAC, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said of the total amount shared to the three tiers of government, the Federal Government received N459.776bn, the states received N461.979bn, the LGs got N337.019bn, while the oil-producing states received N95.598bn as derivation (13 per cent of mineral revenue).
The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, however, waited in vain to get the money paid directly into the LG accounts starting from july.
The Incorporated Trustees of ALGON has accused the state commissioners of finance of working with state governors to halt the direct payment of allocations from the federation account to the 774 Local Governments’ accounts.
ALGON threatened to file a contempt case against the commissioners if they disobeyed the Supreme Court’s ruling in a letter dated July 30, 2024, sent to the Chairman of the Forum of State Commissioners of Finance in Nigeria and signed by its attorney, Mike Ozekhome (SAN).
In the letter, Ozekhome alleged that the finance commissioners committee had tempered his clients’ joy at the outcome reached by the highest court.
In spite of the fact that Aminu Maifata’s faction within ALGON denied posing a legal threat against the commissioners’ committee, Ozekhome insisted that he got a briefing from the ALGON Board of Trustees through a letter signed by Mohammed Abubakar, the board’s secretary-general.
In spite of the fact that Aminu Maifata’s side of ALGON denied posing a legal threat against the commissioners’ committee, Ozekhome maintained that he received a briefing from the ALGON Board of Trustees via a letter signed by Mohammed Abubakar, the board’s secretary-general.
Edun blamed the delay on the Supreme Court’s proceedings, which had not been relayed to the Attorney General of the Federation for proper evaluation and enforcement.
He admitted that the process was still in its early phases and added that more actions would be made as soon as all the information was available.
The minister stated that a committee had been constituted by the FG and that the Federal Government was yet to commence paying the rightful LGs directly because of some “practical impediments
Governors’ Forum, the Federal Government and the states are looking for a political solution to manage the fallout of the Supreme Court judgment.
“The first step is the three-month moratorium on the judgment. For the next three months, the LG allocation will still be paid into the joint account with the respective states, while a permanent solution that will serve the objectives of financial autonomy as envisaged by the Supreme Court judgment is worked out,”
He added, “The governors are happy that the judgment came eventually, as it would relieve them of the burden of having to augment monthly FAAC allocation of the LGs to be able to pay local government staff, primary school teachers, and primary health workers, among others.
The source expressed the concerns of the governors that only a few local government areas in the country could actually survive and pay bills conveniently from FAAC allocation and internally generated revenue.
“The issue of financial autonomy per the Supreme Court judgment is not as rosy as it looks. Only a few local governments in Lagos, Rivers, Kano, and the Federal Capital Territory can comfortably cover their expenses using only monthly FAAC allocations and their IGR.
“For other states, governors augment their allocation with state funds to be able to pay salaries. That is why the salary of primary school teachers and primary health workers, which are the responsibilities of LGs, is taken as first line charge through the joint account with the state.
“It is clear to both the Federal Government and the governors that there will be a problem with the Supreme Court judgment and the local governments will be rocked by industrial action by workers,” he added.
Ozekhome on monday, said he had only seen the alleged agreement between the Federal Government and the states regarding the delay of the LG autonomy implementation on the pages of newspapers.
The constitutional lawyer said he was also not aware that the July allocation for LGs had been paid to the finance commissioners in states.
“If that were done, it would be a frontal attack on the valid and subsisting judgment of the apex court and there are serious legal consequences for such indiscretion,” Ozekhome said.
He added that there was no ultimatum given by ALGON through his chambers for the initiation of contempt proceedings against the finance commissioners of the 36 states of the federation if they did not pay the allocation to the 774 LGs immediately.
.It was discovered that the Federal Government had challenges implementing the decision on local government financial autonomy into practice because of concerns regarding how it might impact operational viability and wage payments.
Worried by the ruling, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde requested an internal solution that would make sure everyone was not affected.
The law is the law, and certainly, we should go to court when there is a conflict. However, it is our duty to find indigenous solutions that would allow us to retain transparency while safeguarding the rights of our people.
This is due to the fact that the grass will suffer in the event of fight between two elephants, according to a quotation from Makinde.
Moreover, according to The PUNCH, the National President of ALGON,
Speaking in a telephone chat with one of our correspondents on the supposed illegality of disbursement to states’ accounts, Ahmed said, “They wrote a letter that within 90 days, all LG signatories should ensure they link their accounts with TSA. So, it’s not yet over.”
In Plateau State, an LG boss, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the FG gave a three-month period before the implementation of the judgement.
“Don’t forget that after the Supreme Court judgement, the Federal Government passed a circular giving a three-month window before the commencement of the implementation. As it is, the period has not elapsed and so there is no cause for alarm,” our source said.
“We at the local government areas are not complaining that our monthly allocations are still channeled through the state government. We receive the allocations due to us as LGs. I don’t know of other LGs but we in Plateau are receiving ours accordingly and the state government does not tamper with it.”
The PUNCH gathered on Monday that all the members of the executive councils of the LGs from Katsina State had relocated to Abuja, though it was not clear who they went to meet as a follow-up to the LG autonomy.
Another LG chairman in Katsina State, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said all chairmen, together with the state ALGON chairman, Bello Kaita, were in Abuja for a meeting on Monday.
“We are all here in Abuja to push for our autonomy, because the Supreme Court judgement ought to be respected, but you see, even the Federal Government allocation was not given, let alone our legal mandate of a four-year tenure. So, we are in Abuja for the issues.”
Efforts to speak with the ALGON chairman, Kaita, were unsuccessful as his telephone number was not connecting as of the time of filing this report.
In another twist, the Adamawa State Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Augustina Wandamihya, described the Supreme Court judgement as “belated”, saying LG autonomy had long been implemented by the state.
The commissioner told The PUNCH on Monday that Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, in his policy of transparency and accountability, granted local government autonomy during his first tenure in office.
“Since Governor Fintiri took over the mantle of leadership he granted autonomy to the 21 local governments in the state. All the local governments since then get their Federal Government allocation directly, their monies don’t come through the state account,” Wandamihya said.
“If this interview was in the office, I would have shown you all the documents. So, in Adamawa State, the Supreme Court judgement was belated.”
Also speaking on the issue, the state Secretary of ALGON and Chairman, Song Local Government Area, Alhaji Idris Yahaya, said confirmed that the July allocation came directly to his council account.
“Our governor, because of his transparency and his interest for the people at the grassroots, granted local government autonomy long before we came into office,” he stated.
Yahaya said the autonomy had brought rapid development to the grassroots following the financial freedom of councils in the state.
He urged other governors in the country to emulate Fintiri and grant local governments autonomy for speedy development at the grassroot.
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