KATSINA, Nigeria (CHATNEWSTV) — All 774 local government areas in Nigeria must open dedicated accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to receive direct allocations from the federation account, according to Bello Lawal-Yandaki, National President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).
Mr. Lawal-Yandaki made the disclosure during a press briefing in Katsina on Sunday, emphasizing that the move is critical to implementing the Supreme Court’s ruling on direct allocations to local councils.
“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,” he said.
Despite delays in the rollout, he assured stakeholders that there is no cause for concern. According to him, the delay stems from the failure of councils to submit required bank details to the Federation Accounts and Allocations Committee (FAAC), which are necessary for facilitating the payments.
“I am a member of the subcommittee 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,” he added.
He further noted that there is a general consensus among stakeholders for the allocations to commence in January, though no specific timeline has been set.
“Hopefully, we are just rounding off meetings and making submissions to the federal government for implementation,” he said.
The Supreme Court ruling mandating direct revenue allocations to local government councils aims to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks and ensure financial autonomy for grassroots development.
