The Senate has passed a resolution calling for the inclusion of Local Government Council (LGC) representatives in the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
This move, sponsored by the Deputy Senate President Barau I. Jibrin (Kano North), during a plenary on Tuesday and supported by Senators Jibrin Isah (Kogi East), Diket Plang (Plateau Central) and Adams Alieru (Kebbi Central) aims to ensure that Local Governments (LGs)
have a greater say in the allocation of funds from the Federation Account.
According to the Senate, LGCs are entitled to share directly in Federation Account Allocations (FAA) as the third tier of government, as stipulated in Section 7(1) and Section 162(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN). The Supreme Court has also ruled that states are merely agents of the federation, responsible for collecting and paying Local Government allocations from the Federation Account without any right or interest in these allocations.
The Senate however resolves to:
Include Local Government Representatives in FAAC and urge the Federal Government (FG) to ensure that a representative of LGCs, one per state and FCT Councils, are included to represent their interests at FAAC; Communicate this resolution to the Hon Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, as the Chairman of FAAC, for urgent information and necessary action.
However, the inclusion of LG representatives in FAAC is expected to: Enhance LG autonomy and allow LGs to have a greater say in the allocation of funds and ensure more effective management of their allocations; Promote transparency and accountability, by enabling LGs to participate in decision-making processes and ensure transparency in the allocation and utilization of funds and; Boost local development, by enabling LGs to address local development needs and priorities more effectively.
The Senate’s resolution seeks to harmonize the provisions of Section 5 of the Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account, etc) Act 1981 with the Constitution and its current interpretation by the Supreme Court. The move is expected to ensure that LGs receive their allocations directly from the Federation Account, as recommended by the Supreme Court.
