The Senate has urged the Federal Government to ensure that every local government council across the states, along with each area council in the Federal Capital Territory, is granted direct representation in the deliberations of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
It further directed that this resolution be formally conveyed to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, who chairs the FAAC, for immediate implementation.
This move, aimed at reinforcing constitutional adherence and promoting financial transparency at the grassroots level, followed a motion sponsored by Senator Barau Jibrin (Kano North).
He stressed that local government councils, as constitutionally recognised third-tier entities under Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), are entitled to a direct share from the Federation Account.
The Senate referenced a recent Supreme Court ruling which clarified that state governments merely serve as intermediaries for transmitting allocations to local governments and possess neither ownership nor discretionary authority over those funds.
Lawmakers also noted that while FAAC currently comprises only federal and state representatives, Section 5 of the Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account, etc) Act 1981 explicitly excludes local governments, a provision now considered incompatible with the Constitution in light of the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment delivered in July 2024.
The Senate noted that the evolving legal interpretation now calls for direct local government participation in FAAC, both to protect their interests and to enhance accountability in the allocation of national revenue.
