Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, has clarified that the recent Supreme Court judgment on local government council autonomy implies that the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) will no longer allocate funds to local government areas led by Caretaker Committee Chairmen. Ozekhome made this assertion during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise programme on Friday.
“The judgment of the government is clear. If you want to receive funds from the federation account, then conduct an election,” Ozekhome stated. He emphasized that local governments headed by caretaker committees will not receive federal funds.
Expanding on the implications of the court’s decision, Ozekhome noted that development council areas created by Lagos and other states are also disqualified from receiving funds from the FAAC. He suggested that states with such councils could internally distribute funds after the constitutionally recognized local governments have received their allocations.
“What this law is saying is that if you are not a democratically elected local government council, you cannot have this money under section 162 subsection 5 and 6 of the 1999 Constitution,” Ozekhome explained. He further added, “Money should now be ploughed to those local governments that are in existence democratically.”
Ozekhome highlighted that while states can manage their internal distribution of funds, the federal allocation is strictly for the 774 local governments named in the constitution. “If you want money from the federation account, such councils must be democratically elected,” he reiterated.
This ruling reinforces the constitutional mandate for local government elections and ensures that only duly elected councils will benefit from federal allocations.
