President Bola Tinubu has come under criticism for the Federal Government’s failure to comply with a Supreme Court directive mandating direct allocation of funds to local government accounts.
AFRIPOST gathered that although the court issued its ruling in July, the Federal Government has not yet commenced the direct transfer of allocations to the accounts of the 774 local government councils.
Instead, funds continue to be routed through the joint state-local government accounts by the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).
The delay in implementing financial autonomy for local governments has been attributed to the lack of presidential approval.
Akeem Ambali, National President of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), revealed that an inter-ministerial committee was formed to ensure the enforcement of the court’s ruling.
Led by Senator George Akume, the committee submitted its technical recommendations to President Tinubu, but the President has yet to authorize their implementation.
Ambali expressed hope for progress, stating, “We are eagerly awaiting the implementation following the committee’s recommendations.”
Meanwhile, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, through its Director of Press and Public Relations, Mr. Bawa Mokwa, assured that efforts to enable direct disbursement to local governments are underway.
However, no definitive timeline for the start of the payments has been provided.
It is worth noting that the Federal Government initially cited logistical challenges as a reason for the delay, setting three months to address them.
This timeline, which was expected to end in October, has passed without any significant progress being made.
