Over a year after Nigeria’s Supreme Court granted full financial and administrative autonomy to the country’s 774 local government areas, implementation remains stalled due to resistance from state governors and a lack of political will, Apples Bite Reports.
The Supreme Court reiterated its position on Friday during a ruling on a suit by Osun State’s Attorney-General against the Federal Government over withheld local government allocations. Justice Mohammed Idris, in a six-to-one split judgment, ordered that “all funds are henceforth channelled directly to local government accounts in line with constitutional provisions,” while describing the withholding of funds as a “grave breach” of the 1999 Constitution.
The directive echoes the landmark July 11, 2024, judgment that was supposed to end decades of state governors controlling local government finances through joint accounts.
“It has been motion without movement for the past one and a half years since the Supreme Court delivered that judgement last year. Nothing has changed,” Alhaji Aliyu Haruna Kankara, president-general of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), said in an interview.
A 10-member Inter-Ministerial Committee led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, was established to implement the ruling. The committee completed its work, but according to Kankara, “the government is still sitting on the report of the committee, so nothing has been done.”
He attributed the deadlock to gubernatorial opposition: “The governors are against autonomy. Over the years, it has always been the governors who are against local government autonomy.”
The irony, Kankara noted, is that the Federal Government, which won the case at the Supreme Court, now appears unwilling to enforce its own victory. Local government officials attempting to open accounts at Central Bank of Nigeria branches were told no directive had been issued from headquarters.
States Enact New Laws to Maintain Control
Rather than comply with the judgment, several states have passed legislation to maintain their grip on local government finances. On the same day the Supreme Court delivered its latest ruling, the Osun State Assembly passed a Local Government Accounts Administration Bill that strips elected council chairmen of signatory authority over accounts, transferring control to appointed directors.
Anambra State’s Local Government Administration Bill, signed into law by Governor Chukwuma Soludo in October 2024, mandates that all federal allocations be deposited into a State Joint Local Government Account, with local governments required to remit a state-determined percentage within two days of receiving funds.
Soludo warned that granting full autonomy to local governments could lead to “humongous chaos.”
In contrast, Nasarawa State has emerged as the sole example of compliance. Governor Abdullahi Sule signed legislation in November 2024 that abolished joint accounts and dissolved the state Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
Electoral Manipulation Continues
While all 36 states have stopped appointing caretaker committees and have conducted local government elections in compliance with the judgment, the polls remain largely controlled by governors. Governing parties routinely sweep elections, leaving opposition parties with little or no representation.
In cases where governing parties lost—such as in Abia and Rivers states—the results reflected internal political feuds rather than genuine democratic competition.
Government Response
Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi has threatened state governors with contempt of court charges for bypassing the Supreme Court judgment. However, Minister of Finance Wale Edun stated that direct payment to local governments has not begun due to “some practical impediments.”
The National Assembly has pledged to amend Section 162, Subsection 6 of the 1999 Constitution, which created the State/Local Government Joint Account, to enable full implementation.
Nigerian Bar Association President Afam Osigwe confirmed that the Supreme Court’s position is “legally binding on every Nigerian,” but declined further comment citing pending related cases.
NULGE has vowed to continue advocacy efforts with civil society organizations and the Nigeria Labour Congress to push for implementation, but political maneuvering ahead of the 2027 elections appears to have overshadowed the reform agenda.
“The spirit of the law is alive,” an anonymous government source said, suggesting that full implementation would come “with time.” However, for local government workers and advocates of grassroots democracy, the wait continues.
