N860.252 billion has been given to state governments by the federal government through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for January; N361.754 billion of this amount is anticipated to be distributed to local governments.
Their failure to submit account details by the deadline will prevent the councils from receiving their allocations directly.
The January money for the councils will be distributed through the states, while the Federation Account will directly fund the Primary Health Center (PHC) and Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), according to an FAAC official.
According to the FAAC official, the commission gave state governments the January allocations as the councils did not fulfill the administrative procedures for the distribution of monies.
The January allotment went to the state coffers rather than the local governments, he claimed.
In the event that they have begun to submit their accounts, they will receive their February allocations.
“The state accounts have already been credited with the January allocation. In other words, they failed to submit their information on time.
“They will receive their monies straight from next month if the councils can act quickly and take care of any outstanding issues beforehand.
According to the Bola Tinubu government, that will mark the beginning of their autonomy.
The Federal Government is committed to ensuring that local government autonomy is a reality, however I have discovered that the account creation process is what is holding the process up. “I can guarantee you that we are on the right track,” stated another FAAC official.
Following the Supreme Court’s July 2024 decision that local government councils should receive their funds directly from the Federation Account rather than via state governments, the court granted them financial autonomy.
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In order for the Federal Government to carry out the ruling, all local governments were instructed to register special bank accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) so that their monthly allotments could be sent directly.
It is believed, meanwhile, that the ongoing budget defense and other urgent engagements involving important government officials have slowed down the process.
