Lagos, Kano get lion’s share as LGs share N2tn

Local Government Areas in Nigeria got N2.02tn from disbursed federal allocation in 2022.

This came as LGAs in Lagos, Kano, Oyo, Katsina, and Rivers states raked in the highest allocations for the year. Local government areas in the five states got 24.83 per cent (N500.38bn) of the total allocation.

Local government areas in Bayelsa, Gombe, Ebonyi, Nasarawa, and Ekiti raked in the lowest allocations for the year.

In 2022, the eight local government areas in Bayelsa got N24.03bn; the 11 in Gombe got N28.97bn; the 13 in Ebonyi got N31.73bn; the 13 in Nassarawa got N31.96bn; the 16 in Ekiti got N34.86bn; the 16 in Kwara got N37.69bn; the 14 in Zamfara got N38.37bn; and the 17 in Abia got N39.33bn.

Six local government areas in FCT got N39.52bn; 16 in Taraba got N40.42bn; 17 in Yobe got N41.22bn; 18 in Cross River got N41.69bn; 18 in Ondo got N43.03bn; 17 in Enugu got N43.42bn; 18 in Edo got N43.54bn; 17 in Plateau got N44.33bn; 20 in Ogun got N45.68bn; 21 in Adamawa got N49.23bn; 21 in Kogi got N49.30bn; 21 in Kebbi got N49.96bn; 21 in Anambra got N52bn; 23 in Sokoto got N55.58bn; 20 in Bauchi got N55.90bn; 23 in Benue got N57.28bn.

In 2022, the Federal Government allocated N57.68bn to the 25 local government areas n Delta; N58.25bn to the 27 in Imo; N58.42bn to the 30 in Osun; N60.68bn to the 25 in Niger; N61.63bn to the 27 in Jigawa; N65.37bn to the 27 in Borno; N66.31bn to the 31 in Akwa Ibom; N67.69bn to the 23 in Kaduna; N80.39bn to the 23 in Rivers; N81.81bn to the 34 in Katsina; N84.51bn to the 33 in Oyo; N107.29bn to the 44 in Kano; and N146.39bn to the 20 in Lagos.

The 774 local government areas in Nigeria are allocated revenues from the federation account monthly.

Revenue from oil, relevant taxes, the Nigerian Customs Service trade facilitation activities, Company Income Tax, sale of national assets, and surplus and dividends from State Owned Enterprises are aggregated in the federation account for sharing amongst the three tiers of government.

According to the current sharing formula, the Federal Government gets 48.5 per cent, state governments 26.72 per cent, and Local Government 20.6 per cent from the federation account.

Recently, state governments and local governments asked the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission to increase their shares of the federal allocation.

According to the National Deputy President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Shehu Jega, local governments need higher revenue allocations to be able to survive and avoid phasing into extinction.

During a programme organised by RMAFC, he said, “ALGON wishes to tell the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission that it has a great important role to play in rescuing local government system from extinction – extinction in the sense that local government system needs increase in the revenue sharing formula.

“After that allocation, it has to be monitored to ensure that each local government council in the country gets its allocation straight to its account.”

According to the President of the National Union of Local Government Employees, Mr Ambali Olatunji, local governments do not get most of the money disbursed to them because of state governments.

In an earlier interview with The PUNCH, he said, “The money was allocated, but it wasn’t given to local governments. Twenty-five per cent of that money did not get to them.

“These monies are being diverted and pilfered by state political actors relying on Section 162 of the constitution that says, ‘allocation of funds to the local government should be through joint accounts allocation committee and should be appropriated by Houses of Assembly’”

According to an economist, and a faculty member at the Lagos Business School, Bongo Adi, local governments area are state governors piggybanks.

He stated that the country needs to restore the rural economy, which is in the purview of the local governments, to the fore in order to have functional market systems, an effective economy, and people-serving policies.

In an earlier interview with The PUNCH, he added, “We need to rethink the local government arrangement.”