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The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has requested that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, promptly reveal if the bank has begun the direct allocation of funds to the 774 local councils in Nigeria from the Federation Account, along with disclosing the amounts sent to each council, if any.
SERAP also called on Cardoso to disclose whether any payments have been made from the Federation Account to local councils in Rivers State and to clarify the justification for such payments.
Recall that the Supreme Court ruled last July in a significant decision that no governor or agency has the authority to withhold, control, or distribute allocations from the Federation Account intended for local councils, stating that these allocations must be sent directly to duly elected councils.
In a Freedom of Information request submitted over the weekend and signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization emphasized: “The CBN must act in the public interest to ensure that the 774 councils in the nation receive their allocations directly from the Federation Account, as mandated by the Supreme Court.
“The CBN has a constitutional and legal obligation to safeguard the allocations within the Federation Account and to ensure that public funds are disbursed directly to each of the three constitutionally recognized tiers of government.”
According to SERAP, the CBN also has the constitutional and legal responsibility to ensure that no part of the federation operates contrary to the Nigerian Constitution or under any entity lacking constitutional power to do so.
“State governors are depriving local councils of necessary funds, jeopardizing their operations, despite the Supreme Court's binding directives. The blatant disregard of governors for the Supreme Court’s rulings undermines the court's integrity and directly challenges the rule of law.
“The CBN should promote adherence to the Supreme Court's orders. If state governors are permitted to disregard the court, it will compromise the bank's ability to fulfill its constitutional and legal responsibilities credibly.”
The organization pointed out that ensuring compliance with the Supreme Court's orders regarding direct disbursement of allocations from the Federation Account to the 774 councils is essential, especially ahead of the 2027 general elections, to prevent states and the Federal Capital Territory from interfering with the allocations.
