FOLLOWING the July 2024 Supreme Court ruling affirming the autonomy of local government administration, many Nigerian states have been conducting local government elections, with some gearing up for the exercise, in what is unprecedented in the nation’s history.
The ruling, which restored financial and administrative independence to the nation’s 774 local government areas (LGAs), has compelled state governments to hold elections, marking a departure from the previously pervasive practice of appointing caretaker committees who were mainly the governors’ stooges and tools for squirrelling public funds.
Although The ICIR reports that this practice has been widely criticised for undermining local governance and stalling community development, many Nigerian state governors used the LGAs as tools for political patronage, which negated democratic ideals.
The ICIR reports that no fewer than 10 states, including Adamawa, Kwara, Bauchi, Delta, Cross River, and Anambra have held local government elections after the Supreme Court ruling, allowing citizens to elect who leads them at the level of government closest to them.
Other are Ebonyi, Kebbi, Enugu and Sokoto. The ICIR reports that local government elections were held in these states between July and September 2024.
For years, LGAs, which are constitutionally the third tier of government, have been deprived of their autonomy, with state governors often hand-picking local government chairmen and councillors.
This has reportedly led to the stifling of development at the grassroots level, as most of the funding intended for LGAs was controlled and sometimes misappropriated by state executives.
Until the Supreme Court ruling, many LGAs had been headed by caretaker committees in most states across the country.
For instance, the administration of former governor Yahaya Bello appointed caretaker chairmen for the state’s 21 LGAs in January this year.
Similarly, Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa appointed caretaker leaders for the newly established 33 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) and 18 LGAs in July this year.
While affirming the LGAs’ autonomy, in a case instituted by the Federal Government, the seven-man panel of the Supreme Court, in the judgment delivered by Emmanuel Agim, declared that the 774 LGAs should manage their funds themselves.
The court further declared that it was unconstitutional for state governors to hold funds allocated to local government administrations.
Recall that The ICIR reported that former President Muhammadu Buhari, in May 2020, signed an executive order to grant financial autonomy to the judiciary, legislature, and local government councils, but analysts said the misappropriation of LGA funds would not end until a proper constitutional amendment was done.
Other states positioned for LG poll
Meanwhile, about 15 other states are revving efforts to conduct the LGA election in the coming days and months.
Among them are Rivers, Jigawa, and Benue, all slated for October 5. Others, such as Kogi and Plateau, will hold elections on October 9, while Kaduna and Kano are set for October 19 and 24, respectively.
In addition to these, Akwa Ibom has scheduled its elections for October 26, while Abia will follow on November 2. Ogun and Taraba are preparing for elections on November 16 and 18, respectively, while Ondo and Osun will have theirs in early 2025 – on January 18 and February 22, respectively
However, it is unclear when states such as Zamfara, Bayelsa and Niger would conduct the election.
Before the July 2024 ruling, a handful of Nigerian states had conducted local government elections.
The states were Borno, which conducted its elections on January 20, 2024, and Delta – on July 13, 2024.
Gombe and Katsina also held the election in early 2024. However, Lagos and Oyo previously held theirs in 2021 and 2024, respectively.
LG gets N6.92 trillion in 3 years
Between January 2022 and June 2024, the federal government, through its Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), released N6.92 trillion to the 774 LGAs in Nigeria.
The ICIR compiled this disbursement from data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) monthly report on FAAC allocation.
The ICIR gathered that in 2022, the total allocation disbursed to the local government was N2.62 trillion, while in 2023, the total disbursement to the local governments was N2.60 trillion.
Meanwhile, N1.69 trillion has been disbursed to the 774 LGAs between January and June 2024.
The data showed that more allocations have been made to the LGAs within the last year after the fuel subsidy was removed in May 2023 when President Bola TInubu assumed office.
The ICIR checks showed that between June 2023 and June 2024, one year under Tinubu’s administration, FAAC distributed N3.34 trillion to the LGAs.
However, many state governments across the country, are notorious for hijacking LGA funds, according to a senior research & policy analyst for BudgIT, Vahyala Kwaga.
He said, “It is an open secret that governors ‘hijack funds in the joint account of the states and the local Government.
“More worrisome is despite the minimal amount of money received by the local governments, publication of the spending efficiency is nonexistent. This speaks to the lack of transparency even with the little received by the LGAs.”
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ mfatunmole@icirnigeria.org