FG Fails to Pay Allocations Directly to LG Accounts Months After Supreme Court Ruling

The federal government, through the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), has continued to pay allocations meant for local governments into joint state and local government accounts.

This is despite the Supreme Court ruling in July, which ordered the Federal Government to make direct payments to local government accounts.

The latest payment, totalling N1.298 trillion for September 2024, was shared among federal, state, and local governments in Abuja on Thursday.

The Supreme Court Ruling in July directed the Federal Government to start direct payment of local governments’ monthly allocations into the individual accounts of the 774 local government councils. The ruling aimed to grant autonomy to local governments and ensure transparent governance.

However, shortly after the judgment was delivered, the Federal Government cited operational issues that needed to be sorted out before the direct payment could be implemented. A three-month window was created to resolve these issues. The moratorium elapsed last week although the government at the grassroots are yet to receive funding directly.

The September 2024 FAAC allocation totaled N1.298 trillion. The Federal Government received N424.867 billion, while the state governments received N453.724 billion. The local government councils received N329.864 billion, and N90.415 billion was allocated as derivation revenue.

The distributable revenue comprised N124.716 billion in statutory revenue, N543.518 billion in Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, N18.445 billion in Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue, N462.191 billion in Exchange Difference revenue, and N150.000 billion in augmentation.