The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has accused the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) of frustrating the full implementation of local government financial autonomy, despite a Supreme Court judgment affirming the direct funding of all 774 local councils across the country.
ALGON’s Secretary General, Muhammed Abubakar, made the allegation ahead of a Federal High Court sitting scheduled for Tuesday in Abuja, where the matter is set for hearing.
Abubakar criticised the AGF’s directive instructing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to open uniform bank accounts for all local governments, describing it as a move that contradicts the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“The Supreme Court clearly affirmed that local governments are an independent tier of government. Yet, we’re seeing actions from the AGF’s office that contradict that autonomy,” Abubakar stated in Abuja.
ALGON had filed a lawsuit with suit number FHC/ABJ/05/353/2025 against the AGF and several federal institutions, demanding full recognition of local governments in the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and the freedom to manage their finances independently.
The suit also includes the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu; the Accountant-General of the Federation; the CBN; the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL); and commercial banks.
Though the Supreme Court ruled on July 11, 2024, that allocations to local governments must be paid directly to their accounts, implementation has remained stalled. ALGON said no local government has received any direct allocation since the judgment.
According to Abubakar, the CBN’s request for two years of audited financial reports before opening accounts was not part of the Supreme Court’s ruling and represents another layer of unnecessary bureaucracy.
“After the judgment, we approached the AGF’s office requesting that LGAs be allowed to open accounts with commercial banks of their choice. But instead, the AGF directed the CBN to open accounts on their behalf. That defeats the purpose of autonomy,” he said.
He insisted that true autonomy means allowing each local government to choose its own bank and receive its funds directly without external control.
“We’re not saying the money should come to ALGON,” he clarified. “We’re saying it should go to each LGA—in the banks they choose.”
When contacted for comment, the Special Adviser on Communication and Publicity to the AGF and Minister of Justice, Kamarudeen Ogundele, declined to speak on the matter, saying, “It is sub judice to speak on a matter before a court.”
