One Year After S’Court Judgement, Stakeholders Proffer Way Forward for Autonomy in LGs

. Share of FAAC to local councils reaches N35.2tn since 1999

Ndubuisi Francis and Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Top policymakers from the public and private sectors, civil society organisations, international development organisations, academics and members of the diplomatic community, among others,  yesterday appraised  the  local government system, and the challenges that have torpedoed the implementation of last year’s ruling by the Supreme Court affirming the autonomy of  local governments.

They not only proffered the way forward to operationalise the judgement but  also how to truly make the third tier of government effective levers of grassroots development anchored on capacity-building,  accountability, transparency and rule of law  

The stakeholders converged on Abuja at a policy conversation themed,  “Local Governance Reforms a Year After Supreme Court”s Judgement,” organised by Agora Policy in collaboration with MacArthur Foundation, TheCable, Centre for Fiscal Transparency and African Cities Research Consortium.

The Minister of  Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, who delivered the keynote address at the event stated that since the Supreme Court verdict, the federal government had routinely complied with the aspect which stopped the federation allocation to local governments without constitutionally and properly elected officials.

However,  on the aspect  of paying directly into the accounts of local councils, the minister noted that discussions were ongoing between relevant federal authorities and other stakeholders.

But Prof. Remi Aiyede of the University of Ibadan, said the Supreme Court ruling  of July 2024 granting financial autonomy to local governments marked a pivotal moment, adding that challenges like state interference, corruption, and weak accountability persist.

Aiyede who provided “Reflections on Five  Decades of Local Government Reforms in Nigeria,” submitted that the July 2024 Supreme Court ruling mandated direct federal allocations to local councils and barred governors from dissolving elected councils. 

He said: “The apex court ruled that governors must not impose caretaker committees or withhold funds; allocations from the Federation Account must flow directly to LGAs. 

“While heralded as affirming autonomy, but there are  potential pitfalls—such as “non-correspondence”: local governments may receive funds without local accountability structures to manage them.

“Governors are powerful enough to make it meaningless: For instance, states like Anambra have devised workarounds (e.g., requiring LGAs to repay allocations to state accounts: Anambra State Local Government Law 2024 is Section 13 and 14).

He cited identified key challenges  to include what he described as “enduring dilemmas around autonomy vs. state control, funding vs. accountability, and democracy vs. political interference.”

 Aiyede expressed dismay over the role of Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) to predetermine elections outcome, adding that post-2024 Supreme Court ruling, 26 states held council polls, with ruling parties winning 100 per cent in most cases. 

In a goodwill message, Lead Governance Specialist, World Bank, 

Deborah Isser, stated that local government, as the authority closest to the people, is in the best position to make decisions that address local preferences and needs, describing it as the principle of subsidiarity.  

Isser  noted that the Supreme Court decision was aimed to correct inherent   distortions by interpreting the constitution as requiring the political and financial autonomy of local governments. 

“ Its implementation, however, has revealed that there are still disagreements about what exactly this means – what sort of supervision, oversight and functions can states exert over and on behalf of local governments? “What requirements must be in place for local governments to receive funds directly? What policies and practices can ensure local government accountability? 

“No doubt, much of the reason for non-implementation is political – some state governors simply do not want to lose the power they have over the people and budget of local governments.

“Others are primarily concerned about a lack of capacity, systems and accountability mechanisms in local governments; they don’t trust local governments to do the right thing. This creates a vicious cycle of low trust, low capacity,” 

the World Bank official said.

Noting that there was a lot at stake, she cited Agora Policy’s new report

that since 1999, local governments share of FAAC has been N35.2 trillion . 

“Also, in June 2025 alone, FAAC distributed N445 billion to local governments,” she added.

In another goodwill message, Cynthia of the British High Commission listed five key for effective local governments in the country.

These include clarity of roles between states and local governments, strategic planning, citizen engagement, fiscal autonomy and strong democratic values.

During the panel session at the event, the Executive Director, Yiaga Africa, Samson  Itodo, said that local government elections conducted after the supreme court’s landmark ruling on local government autonomy were a “travesty” of electoral democracy.

He said that states conducted the elections as a justification to qualify them for the allocation of funds as that such elections were nowhere democratic, but allocation of votes by the ruling political parties in the states .

Itodo said only 14 states had elected local councils before the court verdict, noting that the judgment triggered a rush by the remaining states to conduct LG elections.

“In fact, in 2024, we classified October as the super month of local government elections in the country because all the states rushed to conduct elections,” Itodo said.

“But the question is not in the conduct of the elections, it’s the quality of the polls. And as of last year, and after the Lagos elections, we concluded that all those elections were a travesty of electoral democracy, and they don’t meet the electoral integrity test.

“What we saw was the allocation of votes in most of those elections. That is, states and their officials would sit and allocate votes. And in most of the states, the ruling party swept all the seats.”

Also speaking at the event, National President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Bello Yandaki, said the court ruling has improved fiscal scrutiny at the local level.

According to him, many local government chairpersons are now subject to investigations by anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

“You know that the local government chairpersons do not have immunity, so it’s easy for you to hold them to account. Not that you have to wait until after his three-year term, or in some cases, four-year term, before they can be held to account,” Yandaki said.

“There are a lot of local government chairmen going to EFCC and ICPC daily to answer questions regarding fiscal accountability in their local government.

“So,  if there is any tier of government where you can expect accountability, because they will be held to account because of lack of immunity, it’s the local government.”

Yandaki added that ALGON is working to build the capacity of local officials to manage public resources in more transparent and impactful ways.

On her part, Secretary-General of the Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Saudatu Mahdi,  said limited awareness remains a barrier to civic participation in local governance.

She said WRAPA’s research showed that over 50 per cent of Nigerians — and up to 66 per cent of women and persons with disabilities — lack basic information about the reforms and how they can participate.

Earlier in her welcome remarks, Chair of Agora Policy, Ojobo Atuluku,  said sustained reforms at the local level must go beyond court rulings and be backed by political will and civic mobilisation.

“Our goal is to provide a platform for frank dialogue, policy learning, and cross-sector collaboration,” she said.

“Each of you holds a piece of the reform puzzle, and only together can we advance sustainable and equitable governance. We recognise that policy change does not come by court rulings alone. It requires political will, institutional capacity, and civic influence.”