In a manner characteristic of brazen lawlessness by the political elite, state governors continue to withhold local government funds running into trillions of Naira two years after a Supreme Court ruling in favour of autonomy for the third tier of government, yet the Federal Government fails to wield the big stick
By Edu Abade
In saner climes, most state governors should be facing prosecution or even serving jail terms for defying a Supreme Court order that restored autonomy to the 774 local government areas of the country. Reason? They still withhold council funds and dispense such monies as they please, making the third tier of government look helpless and subservient to state governors, especially in matters of providing basic needs at the grassroots level.
As such, endemic corruption continues in the country, while those who should act on the matter busy themselves with 2027 politics of who gets what. It is even alleged that before, during and after council elections, some governors, even in states that get 13 percent derivation coerce chairmen of respective local governments to reach an understanding and sign off the council funds before they are voted into office.
To make matters worse President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid and the politics of the 2027 general elections may have stalled the implementation of financial autonomy in the 774 local government councils across the country.
Tentacle checks revealed that most of local government councils across the country still receive their monthly allocations from state governments rather than directly from the Federation Account, two years after the Supreme Court’s verdict.
Sources at the Presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) disclosed that President Tinubu has yet to enforce local government autonomy because he does not have the political will to confront state governors who are expected to play crucial roles in his re-election bid.
This comes about six months after Tinubu threatened to invoke an Executive Order to ensure the direct payment of allocations to local governments.
It would be recalled that the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment granting full financial and administrative autonomy to all 774 LGAs in the country on July 11, 2024, further maintaining that it was unconstitutional for state governors to withhold funds meant for local councils.
The Federal Government had a case against the 36 state governors before the Supreme Court, accusing them of usurping the constitutional powers of local governments by withholding federal allocations meant for the councils and disbursing the funds at their discretion through the State Joint Local Government Account, often after making deductions.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, who delivered the lead judgment, held that local governments should henceforth receive their allocations directly from the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He further ruled that it was illegal and unconstitutional for governors to receive and withhold funds allocated to LGAs in their states.
In December 2025, Tinubu warned state governors that he might be compelled to issue an Executive Order to ensure direct allocations to local governments if they failed to comply with the Supreme Court ruling.
The President had earlier issued a similar warning at the APC’s 14th National Caucus meeting on December 18, 2025, emphasizing that LG autonomy could not be achieved without a funded mandate.
Tinubu said non-compliance by state governments could force the Federal Government to release funds directly to local councils through the Federation Account Allocation Committee.
But nearly two years after the judgment, and despite repeated assurances and warnings by the President to state governors, the implementation of LG financial autonomy has remained stalled.
A senior Presidency official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the matter, admitted that the issue had become politically delicate as attention had gradually shifted to the next general elections.
The source said the administration was conscious of the political implications of aggressively pursuing a policy that could strain its relationship with state governors, many of whom are expected to play important roles in the President’s re-election campaign.
“We can’t be talking about this now. It’s politics season, and that would be a sensitive matter,” the official told Sunday PUNCH.
Similarly, a national official of the APC described the implementation of LG autonomy as politically delicate, saying Tinubu was weighing the likely reaction of state governors.
He disclosed that the governors were not favourably disposed to LG autonomy and had continued to frustrate its implementation.
According to the APC official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, the governors remain the major pillar of Tinubu’s re-election bid, and the President would not want to alienate them.
“The issue of LG autonomy is delicate because of the governors’ position on it. You will recall that after the Supreme Court judgment, the governors requested a three-month moratorium before implementation. After that, they had meetings with Mr. President, and since then, the process has continued to drag.
“We are a political party, and these governors are the major drivers of Tinubu’s re-election. It would be unwise to provoke the governors or do anything that would dampen their morale. We need to tread softly on LG autonomy,” he said.
Yet the amounts involved are mind-boggling. Details of funds shared among the three tiers of government from January to June amounted to N13.106 trillion from which the 774 local government areas should have received their share of N3.004 trillion directly from the Federal Government, but state governors have consistently sat on the money.
Specifically, in June alone, FAAC N2.55 trillion among the federal, states and local government areas with Delta, Lagos and Rivers states topping the receipts. Delta State led FAAC allocations in June 2026, receiving ₦86 billion from oil revenue, followed by Lagos State with ₦74.7 billion, boosted by strong VAT and corporate tax collections June 2026’s total gross revenue reached ₦4.5 trillion, while Rivers State got N72.09 billion marking a significant fiscal performance for Nigeria
Following the development, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees blamed the continued delay in implementing financial autonomy for the councils on lack of political will by those responsible for enforcing the Supreme Court judgment.
National Secretary of NULGE, Isah Gambo, said no local government in the country had begun receiving its statutory allocation directly from the Federation Account, despite the Supreme Court’s order, noting that although the President had directed the implementation of LG autonomy, officials responsible for carrying out the directive had failed to do so without facing any consequences.
“To the best of our knowledge, we are not aware of any local government that has started receiving its allocation directly from the Federation Account. The government has issued a directive for the implementation of LG autonomy, but those responsible for implementing it have refused to comply. The government should sanction them for flouting the President’s directive,” Gambo said.
The NULGE scribe specifically called for sanctions against the Accountant-General of the Federation, whom he said heads the office responsible for disbursing statutory allocations to all tiers of government.
“If local governments were receiving their allocations directly, they would be better empowered to tackle insecurity at the community level. Financial and fiscal autonomy for local governments is part of the solution to insecurity in Nigeria,” Gambo said.
Responding to concerns that direct allocation could encourage corruption at the local government level, he maintained that existing anti-corruption and oversight institutions were sufficient to ensure accountability.
Findings showed that majority of states have yet to ensure that local government allocations are paid directly from the Federation Account, as they continue to operate joint accounts with the councils.
Local government officials in some states, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimization, said the councils had yet to enjoy financial independence, noting that state governments still play significant roles in determining how council funds were disbursed and spent.
An official of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Kano State lamented that the 44 local government councils in the state do not receive their allocation directly from the Federal Government, adding, “Kano State Government still operates a joint account with the local governments. No LGA is receiving its allocation directly from the Federal Government.”
The situation is the same in Plateau State, where LGAs still operate joint accounts with the state government. A local government official lamented that none of the 17 councils in the state had started receiving funds directly from the Federation Account.
Similarly, all the 23 local government councils in Kaduna State have yet to begin receiving allocations directly from the Federation Account, as a senior local government official said the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment had yet to take effect in the state.
According to the source, councils only receive amounts approved and released by the state government, irrespective of the allocations announced from the Federation Account.
“We are yet to receive allocations directly from the Federation Account, as pronounced in the Supreme Court judgment granting local government autonomy.
Also speaking on the issue, a NULGE member in Ogun State said the state had yet to implement local government autonomy despite several appeals by the union, while another senior local government worker, said, “There is nothing like local government autonomy in the state. It is still the state government that pays the salaries of local government workers, as it has done for over 10 years.”
But Chairman of ALGON Chairman in Jigawa State, Sibu Abdullahi, offers some glimmer of hope as he disclosed that all 27 local government areas in the state had started receiving their allocations directly from the Federal Government, saying each council now manages its finances independently.
Abdullahi, who the Chairman of Dutse Local Government Area, said, “Our local government areas are now receiving allocations directly from the FG without any deductions at the state level.”
Also, the Abia State Chairman of ALGON, Chinedu Ekeke, said the Federal Government was duty-bound to implement local government autonomy, adding, “The onus is on the Federal Government to seek the necessary clarification and implement it.”
Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has dismissed Tinubu’s earlier threats to compel governors to implement local government financial autonomy, alleging that the President lacks the political will to enforce the Supreme Court judgment.
National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the President would be unwilling to take any action that could strain his relationship with state governors, whom he described as critical to Tinubu’s political fortunes.
He argued that the President’s repeated pronouncements on local government autonomy were intended more for public consumption rather than for actual implementation.
“The President is just playing to the gallery and deceiving Nigerians. He is just saying all those things for the headlines. He is afraid of the governors because he is beholden to them. He cannot do anything against them because the governors know that he needs them. That is why nothing has been done concerning the issue of local government autonomy,” Abdullahi said.
