The federal government has appointed a 10-man inter-ministerial committee comprising of the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, Governor of the Central Bank, Olayemi Cardoso and eight others to enforce the supreme court judgement on local government autonomy delivered in July 2024.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, CON, has inaugurated an Inter-Ministerial Committee to enforce the apex court’s judgement.
The committee’s primary objective is to ensure that local governments are granted full autonomy, enabling them to operate effectively without state government interference.
Members of the committee are;
- Secretary to the Government of the Federation – Chairman
- Hon. Minister of Finance & Coordinating Minister of the Economy -Member
- Attorney General of the Federation & Minister of Justice – Member
- Hon. Minister of Budget & Economic Planning
- Accountant General of the Federation
- Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria
- Permanent Secretary (Federal Ministry of Finance)
- Chairman, Revenue Mobilization Allocation & Fiscal Commission 9. Representative of State Governors 10. Representative of Local Governments.
Backstory
The move to implement the rule of the apex court stems from a ruling by the court in July where it granted full financial autonomy to the 774 local government areas in the country.
- In determining the merit of the case, Justice Agim held that the 1999 Constitution clearly stipulates that the funds allocated to the three tiers of government should be “distributed” to each respective arm.
- Justice Agim clarified that the 1999 Constitution does not envision any joint accounts for the three tiers of government. However, he noted that in the past, FAAC allocations were sent to joint state and local government accounts, with the intention of transferring these funds to the LGAs, who are the “original owners of the LGA allocations.”
- He explained that this procedure was implemented to prevent local government councils from travelling to the federal capital to collect their share of the funds.
- Justice Agim further asserted that it is the local government councils that should control and manage the funds allocated to them from the Federation Account.
What you should know
Nigeria has 774 local government areas (LGAs), but the effectiveness of this third tier of government has been undermined by powerful governors accused of mismanaging funds meant for local administration.
- In recent months, the call for local government autonomy in Nigeria has intensified, gaining support even from President Bola Tinubu.
- In May, the Federal Government, represented by Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi, initiated legal action against all 36 state governors for allegedly misappropriating local government funds.
- Currently, according to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) under the Presidency, the country’s monthly revenue is distributed as follows: 52.68% to the Federal Government, 26.72% to the states, and 20.60% to local governments, with disbursements managed through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
