Real reason 774 councils are yet to receive FAAC allocation – ALGON

The 774 local governments in Nigeria are set to open dedicated accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to receive direct allocations from the Federation Account, according to the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).

ALGON National President, Bello Lawal Yandaki, emphasized on Sunday that this move is essential to enforcing the Supreme Court’s ruling mandating direct allocations to local councils. He highlighted the importance of the initiative in strengthening local government autonomy and improving grassroots development.

Additionally, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) will oversee the use of these funds by council chairmen to ensure compliance with principles of transparency, accountability, and good governance.

A source revealed that the direct disbursement plan is expected to eliminate middlemen and reduce mismanagement of public funds, ensuring that local governments can effectively address developmental needs within their jurisdictions.

According to the source, the Federal Government has constituted a team of anti-corruption agents drawn from the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prosecute council chairmen and other officials who indulge in corrupt practices.

Yandaki, who spoke with reporters in Katsina, the capital of Katsina State, allayed fears over the delay in the disbursement of funds to the councils.

He said there was no cause for alarm and attributed the delay to the failure of councils to submit necessary bank details to the Federation Accounts and Allocations Committee (FAAC) required for facilitating the payments.

He said: “The CBN is presently awaiting directives from the Federal Government to open local government accounts for the respective states, which can be done between 24 and 48 hours for each.’

“I am a member of the sub-committee that was set up to trash out contentious grey areas, and we have already met relevant stakeholders, including labour unions, local government chairmen, NULGE, and so on.

“There’s a general agreement that the commencement of direct federal revenue allocations to LGs will be this January.

“Hopefully, we are just rounding off meetings and making submissions to the Federal Government for implantation and there’s no set timeline.’’

A source present at the FAAC meeting at the weekend also said: “The structures are yet to be erected. The LGAs have to be coordinated.

He said the apex bank is waiting for the Federal Government’s directive on the opening of the accounts.

“Those that have opened an account with the CBN did not submit their details to FAAC for crediting, resulting in the delay.”

During the January FAAC meeting, N361.754 billion was allocated to the LGAs.

However, the funds remain undistributed due to these administrative bottlenecks.

FAAC officials have urged the councils to resolve these issues before the month’s end to ensure they receive their allocations.

The Federal Government’s decision to channel funds directly to the local government followed the Supreme Court’s ruling affirming the autonomy of the councils.

(Nation)