Governors Clash With Local Government Chairmen Over Autonomy, CBN Account Ban Imposed

This setback comes nearly nine months after the Supreme Court granted full autonomy to the 774 local governments across the country, which allowed for direct payment of federal allocations. In response to the Court’s ruling, a panel was established to oversee the implementation of local government autonomy.

As per the panel’s recommendations, the CBN was instructed to set up accounts for the 774 local governments to facilitate direct allocation payments. However, challenges have emerged, with difficulties in identifying LGAs with democratically elected officials, despite the efforts of the former Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and other officials to finalize the modalities for opening these accounts.

According to a meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee Technical Sub-Committee, only the LGAs in Delta State have provided their account details.

Some local government chairmen have reported that certain governors are using intimidation and coercion to prevent them from opening the designated accounts for direct allocation payments. One chairman from the South-East region shared that a governor refused to accept 50 percent of the monthly allocations, which was part of the agreement to facilitate the opening of the accounts. Despite attempts to negotiate, the governor remained opposed to the plan.

Further investigations indicate that many governors are strongly opposed to the idea of opening CBN accounts, fearing it would cut off their long-standing access to local government funds. One chairman revealed that stringent CBN conditions, such as the requirement for a two-month statement of account from each local government, have made it difficult for many councils to comply. He noted that most states are unable to meet these conditions because governors typically control the local government allocations and only disburse a fraction of the funds.