By Jimmy Arch
President Bola Tinubu has urged all state governors to immediately comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling on local government autonomy by making sure statutory allocations are paid directly to LGAs. If states continue to disregard the Supreme Court’s ruling granting financial autonomy to the third tier of government, he may use an Executive Order to compel direct allocation of funds to local governments.
At the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, which took place at the State House Conference Center in Abuja, Tinubu issued the warning to state governors.
Concerned that certain governors were still refusing to distribute statutory amounts to local councils in spite of the ruling, President Tinubu warned that persistent opposition might result in swift federal intervention through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
“The Supreme Court has capped it for you again, saying, ‘give them their money directly,’” the President said.
“If you wait for my Executive Order, because I have the knife, I have the yam, I will cut it.”
“There is no autonomy without a funded mandate,” Tinubu said.
“We will give them their money directly, that is the truth, that is compliance with the Supreme Court, take leadership seriously.”
“I’m just being very respectful and understanding with my governors. Otherwise, if you don’t start to implement it, fact after fact, you will see.”
“The ultimate goal is our Supreme Court. We have to comply. We have to respect the judgment,” he insisted.
President Tinubu warned that chronic infractions may result in federal intervention and underlined that adherence to the ruling was non-negotiable. The president insisted that councils receive their allotments without intervention, stating that LG autonomy is impossible without financial independence.
The warning comes after the Supreme Court’s historic decision on July 11, 2024, upholding the Federal Government’s lawsuit to compel Nigeria’s 774 local government councils to become financially independent.
A seven-member panel unanimously ruled that state governments’ refusal to provide, regulate, or administer monies intended for local councils is unconstitutional.
In line with Sections 162 (5–8) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which have long been compromised by the operation of state–local government joint accounts, it further mandated that allotments from the Federation Account be paid directly to local governments.
In response to the Supreme Court’s directive, the federal government established an interagency panel to supervise the ruling’s implementation and instructed the Central Bank to open separate accounts for each of the nation’s 774 local government councils in order to enable direct disbursements.
The ICPC threatened government officials and states in default in August 2024, saying that the Commission would not think twice about taking action against anyone who disobeyed the Supreme Court’s decision.
The Attorney General of the Federation cautioned state governors in December 2024 against overturning the Supreme Court’s decision.
However, state governors have persisted in disobeying the Supreme Court’s decision more than a year after it was made. According to investigations, states have disregarded that decision since the federal government has persisted in using state governments to distribute funds to local governments. Trillions of dollars in local government funds are still in their hands.
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