In a significant development, the Association of Local Governments (ALGON) has announced that the 774 local governments in Nigeria will open dedicated accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This move is aimed at facilitating the direct disbursement of allocations to the councils from the Federation Account .

The National President of ALGON, Bello Lawal Yandaki, emphasized that the opening of these accounts is crucial for implementing the Supreme Court's ruling on direct allocations to the councils. The CBN is currently awaiting the Federal Government's directive to open these accounts.

To ensure transparency and accountability, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) will monitor the utilization of funds by council chairmen. Additionally, a team of anti-corruption agents from the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been constituted to prosecute council chairmen and officials involved in corrupt practices.

Yandaki attributed the delay in fund disbursement to the councils' failure to submit necessary bank details to the Federation Accounts and Allocations Committee (FAAC). He assured that the CBN can open local government accounts within 24 to 48 hours once the Federal Government issues the directive.

During the January FAAC meeting, N361.754 billion was allocated to the LGAs, but the funds remain undistributed due to administrative bottlenecks. FAAC officials have urged the councils to resolve these issues before the month's end to ensure they receive their allocations.

This development follows the Federal Government's decision to channel funds directly to local governments, as mandated by the Supreme Court's ruling affirming the autonomy of the councils.