Payment Of FAAC Allocations To LGAs To Begin Next Month

The direct allocation to councils from the Federation Account is set to begin next month.

Our correspondent learnt at the weekend that the disbursement of this month’s allocation to the three tiers of government was the last at the state and federal level, as councils will start to receive funds directly from the Federation Account next month.

This will end the suspension of the enforcement of the Supreme Court’s judgment of July 11, which gave financial independence to councils. Expecting no sudden alterations, councils will now be directly allocated from the Federation Account from next month.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee set up to implement the Supreme Court judgment has revealed that its members have resolved all outstanding issue for the approval of Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) deductions to hit Local Government Areas (LGAs) directly come next month.

Since the delivery of the judgment, the Federal Government has been doing all he could to ensure that there won’t be any disruption to state and local government from ongoing activities. Yet there has been resistance to separating the joint account of the state/local government, into which the council allocations are paid.

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The source explained that though some councils have been collecting their allocation directly, the process will be fully operational by next month.

The committee member declined a request to name the councils that have been receiving direct allocations.

“A few LGAs have already started receiving their direct allocations but all of the 774 LGAs will fully start receiving their allocations from January 2025.

“Our committee will reconvene in January to review its progress and finalise measures before the Accountant-General of the Federation issues authorisation for the complete rollout.

“This is a critical juncture in Nigeria’s governance structure.

“Our January 2025 meeting will also address the actions of governors attempting to undermine the autonomy of democratically elected LGA chairmen, deputies, and councillors, ensuring they are not coerced into serving state interests.”