Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria got N1.42 trillion from disbursed federal allocations in the first five months of 2024.
This amount is 73% of the N1.95 trillion states got and 75% of the N1.88 trillion allocated to the federal government in the same period.
According to the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursement reports by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), there was a 47% increase in the amount LGAs got, rising from N963.9 billion recorded in the same period of 2023.
What the data is saying
There is a notable increase in allocations across each month from 2023 to 2024 for January to May.
- In January, the allocation rose from N221.81 billion in 2023 to N288.93 billion in 2024, marking an increase of N67.12 billion (30%).
- February saw an even more pronounced rise, with allocations jumping from N183.23 billion in 2023 to N278.04 billion in 2024, an increase of N94.82 billion or 52%.
- March continued this upward trend, with allocations increasing from N173.94 billion in 2023 to N267.15 billion in 2024. This increase of N93.22 billion reflects a 54% rise year-on-year.
- April saw a particularly large increase, with allocations growing from N171.26 billion in 2023 to N288.69 billion in 2024, a difference of N117.43 billion, translating to a 69% rise.
- In May, the allocation increased from N213.67 billion in 2023 to N293.82 billion in 2024. This represents an increase of N80.14 billion, or 38%.
- In 2024, the month-over-month trend shows more variability. Allocations decreased from approximately N288.93 billion in January to N278.04 billion in February, a 3.77% decrease.
- The downward trend continued into March, with allocations falling to N267.15 billion, representing a 3.91% decrease from February.
- However, April saw a reversal of this trend, with allocations increasing to N288.69 billion, an 8.07% rise from March.
- May continued this positive trend, albeit with a smaller increase, as allocations rose to N293.82 billion, marking a 1.78% increase from April.
Lagos LGAs are the biggest beneficiaries
The NBS data further showed that the top 10 LGAs that got the most allocations this year are in Lagos state. In fact, the top 20 LGAs that got the most allocations are all from Lagos state.
The top 10 include Alimosho (N9.27 billion), Ajeromi/Ifelodun (N7.42 billion), Kosofe (N7.33 billion), Mushin (N7.24 billion), and Oshodi/Isolo (N7.21 billion).
Others include Ojo (N7.14 billion), Ikorodu (N7.01 billion), Surulere (N6.86 billion), Agege (N6.73 billion), and Ifako/Ijaye (N6.63 billion).
What you should know
Under the current revenue-sharing formula, the federal government gets 52.68% of the revenue, states 26.72%, and local governments 20.60%. The fund enables the three tiers of government to meet their obligations.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Thursday faulted state governments for exploiting the Local Government Areas for “decades”.
The apex court further ordered the federal government to “henceforth” pay a 20.6% allocation from the federation account directly to 774 local government areas accounts for the development of the LGAs.
The verdict was given following the federal government’s suit which sought to stop the governors of 36 states from spending or tampering with 20.6% allocation from the federation account to local government areas, among other reliefs.