By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has clarified that local governments across Nigeria are yet to begin receiving their statutory allocations directly from the Federal Government, despite claims circulating on social media suggesting otherwise.
The union said funds meant for local government councils are still being routed through state government accounts, indicating that the implementation of direct allocation has not commenced.
Thegazellenews.com gathered that the NULGE National Chairman, Aliyu Kankara, explained that, contrary to recent online reports, there has been no change in the disbursement process from the Federation Account Allocation Committee.
He stated that allocations to local governments continue to pass through the joint state–local government accounts.
Kankara categorically said that local governments have not started receiving their funds directly from FAAC. When informed that a presidential aide had posted on X that direct allocations had begun, he dismissed the claim, insisting that the existing arrangement remained in place.
According to him, the most recent information available to the union from the presidency was a commitment by President Bola Tinubu to issue an executive order directing the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment on local government autonomy.
He said, however, that the union was not aware that such an executive order had been issued, adding that NULGE was still waiting and hopeful that the judgment would be fully implemented.
The clarification comes amid conflicting public statements on the status of local government financial autonomy.
In December 2025, President Tinubu directed all state governors to immediately comply with the Supreme Court judgment affirming local government autonomy.
At the time, the President emphasised that true autonomy could not exist without financial independence, insisting that statutory allocations must reach local government councils without any form of interference.
Despite this directive, the issue resurfaced on Sunday, January 11, 2026, when the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, announced via his X account that federal allocations had begun to go directly to local governments.
Dare wrote that local government autonomy had taken effect, as federal allocations were now being paid directly to councils.
The claim was earlier amplified by Renewed Hope United Kingdom, which shared a report citing a television news broadcast.
The report quoted a local government chairman in Jigawa State as confirming that councils had started receiving federal allocations directly, describing the development as a major step toward financial transparency and grassroots empowerment.
The report further noted that President Tinubu had warned during the last National Executive Council meeting that funds meant for local governments must reach them without interference.
It stated that the warning had begun to yield results, signalling an end to the diversion, sharp practices, and backdoor control of local government funds.
According to the post, the alleged development reinforced the Renewed Hope administration’s commitment to accountability, fiscal discipline, and strengthened governance at the grassroots level.
However, the NULGE chairman rejected these assertions, maintaining that there had been no formal or practical implementation of direct allocation to local governments.
He stressed that the union was still awaiting the issuance and enforcement of the presidential directive that would give effect to the Supreme Court judgment, insisting that until such action was taken, local government funds would continue to flow through state-controlled accounts.
