Ondo LG chairmen, State govt clash over allocation sharing

— Council bosses allege being limited to ₦4m monthly

— Govt insists funds remain in councils’ accounts, says deductions are statutory

By Dayo Johnson, Akure

A fresh disagreement has emerged between chairmen of the 18 local government areas in Ondo State and Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s administration over the management of monthly allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

Some council chairmen, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed concern that despite huge FAAC releases to the state, each council is only allowed to access ₦4 million monthly, a situation they say is hampering grassroots development.

According to them, most of the allocations are managed centrally under a joint account system, with councils required to remit a substantial portion of their funds to the Ministry of Local Government.

They argued that this arrangement has made it difficult for them to carry out their statutory responsibilities effectively.

One of the chairmen said: “For instance, in the last FAAC for June, some local governments received as high as ₦644 million, ₦590 million, and ₦405 million. Despite this, we only had access to ₦4 million for council operations. This is not enough to run our offices, let alone deliver development projects.”

The chairmen maintained that while the state government may still be responsible for some obligations such as healthcare, education, and security funding, councils should retain more resources to meet grassroots needs.

They called for the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy, stressing that President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda could only succeed if governance is strengthened at the grassroots.

Meanwhile, the Association for Good Governance Advocacy (AGGA) has urged President Tinubu to enforce direct allocation to local governments nationwide. Its coordinator, Mrs. Folakemi Benson, lamented that except for Lagos, no state currently allows councils full control of their funds, a situation she described as detrimental to grassroots development.

Govt Denies Diversion Allegation

Responding, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Amidu Takuro, denied allegations of diversion, saying there is no secrecy in the process.

According to him, funds remain in the councils’ accounts, while deductions for salaries, pensions, education, and related obligations are statutory.

Takuro explained:

“Teachers’ salaries, workers’ salaries, and pensioners’ entitlements are all deducted at source. Since 2010, gratuities had piled up, but this administration has cleared payments up to 2013, totaling over ₦3.7 billion. These obligations cannot be ignored.”

He added that the arrangement was reached through a unanimous decision with the council chairmen, and insisted the government was committed to ensuring effective and responsive local government administration in Ondo State.

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