LAGOS, Nigeria (CHATNEWSTV) — A leading Nigerian anti-corruption group has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to disclose whether it has begun directly disbursing funds from the Federation Account to local government councils, in compliance with a landmark Supreme Court ruling.
In a Freedom of Information request dated May 10, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) called on CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso to “immediately disclose whether the bank has commenced the direct disbursement of allocations to the 774 local government councils in Nigeria… and to widely publish the amounts, if any, so far directly sent to each of the councils.”
SERAP also asked the apex bank to confirm whether any direct payment had been made to local councils in Rivers State and “to explain the rationale for any such payment.”
The Supreme Court ruled in July 2023 that state governors and other agencies have no legal authority to manage or retain local government funds from the Federation Account. According to the ruling, allocations must be paid directly to democratically elected councils.
In a press statement released on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, SERAP emphasized that “the CBN ought to act in the public interest to ensure that the 774 councils in the country directly get their own allocations.”
The group warned that state governors were “starving local governments of funds” and disregarding the Supreme Court’s binding orders, thereby undermining the rule of law and constitutional governance.
“If state governors get away with ignoring the court, it will undermine the ability of the bank to credibly perform its constitutional and statutory duties,” SERAP said in the statement signed by deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare.
SERAP added that the CBN has both constitutional and statutory duties to protect public funds in the Federation Account and to ensure that “no part of the Federation is governed contrary to the Nigerian Constitution.”
The group warned that continued payment of local government funds through state governments would endanger governance at the grassroots level and could compromise the credibility of the 2027 elections.
“Local government councils are entitled to direct payment… States should not be collecting, receiving, spending or tampering with the funds,” the statement said.
Citing a 2022 statement by former President Muhammadu Buhari, SERAP noted that state officials often divert local government allocations. “If the money from the Federation Account to the State is about N100 million, N50 million will be sent to the chairman but he will sign that he received N100 million,” Buhari had said. “The chairman will pocket the balance and share it with whoever he wants.”
According to recent reports, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) shared N1.578 trillion in March 2025 among Nigeria’s three tiers of government. SERAP claims that many councils have already opened dedicated accounts with the CBN in anticipation of direct transfers.
“If we have not heard from you within seven days, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and the CBN to comply with our request in the public interest,” the group said.
The CBN has not yet issued a public response.
Editor: Gabriel Ani
