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By Lukman Olabiyi, Lagos; Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure; Laide Raheem, Abeokuta; Lateef Dada, Osogbo; Taiwo Oluwadare, Ibadan; and Priscilla Ediare Ado-Ekiti
Two years after the Supreme Court delivered its landmark judgment affirming financial autonomy for Nigeria’s 774 local government councils, the promise of a truly independent third tier of government remains largely unfulfilled.
Rather than bringing the long-running battle over local government funds to a definitive end, the judgment has opened another front in Nigeria’s already intense struggle over political and financial control of the grassroots.
The South-West, in particular, presents a striking picture of this unfinished business. Across Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun, the response to the Supreme Court judgment has ranged from claims of full compliance and gradual legal reform to allegations of continued state control and outright political confrontation.
The result is a region where the constitutional principle of local government autonomy is widely accepted in rhetoric but remains contested in practice.
On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court, in the suit instituted by the Attorney-General of the Federation against the 36 state governors, ruled that allocations due to local governments should be paid directly to them rather than being controlled by state governments through the State Joint Local Government Account.
The court also held that only democratically elected local government councils were entitled to receive such allocations.
The judgment was celebrated as a watershed moment, a judicial attempt to end decades of financial dependence that had left local governments largely at the mercy of state governors.
But two years later, the central question remains unanswered: who really controls the money meant for Nigeria’s grassroots? The answer varies from state to state.
Lagos
Lagos offers perhaps the strongest official claim of compliance in the South-West.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said in July 2025 that the state’s 57 local government areas and local council development areas enjoyed full financial independence and operated without interference from the state government.
If translated fully into practice, that position would place Lagos close to the model envisaged by the Supreme Court.
Yet the Lagos experience also raises a fundamental question about what constitutes genuine autonomy.
Is autonomy achieved when a state government says it does not interfere with council spending, or must there be a clearly demonstrable system in which statutory federal allocations flow directly into independently controlled local government accounts?
The distinction is important because autonomy is not simply about the movement of money. It is also about institutional independence, accountability and the capacity of elected councils to determine their own priorities.
That broader question surfaced in September 2025 when the Lagos State House of Assembly considered a motion seeking financial autonomy for the legislative arms of local governments and LCDAs.
The argument was that local lawmakers, like their executives, require financial independence to effectively perform their representative and oversight functions.
The development underscored the wider challenge confronting local government autonomy: financial independence without institutional independence may still leave the grassroots vulnerable to political influence.
Oyo
Former Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in the state, Prince Ayodeji Abass Aleshinloye, said two years after the Supreme Court judgment, genuine financial autonomy was not even existing in the state.
Aleshinloye, who served as chairman of Oluyole Local Government during the administration of former Governor Abiola Ajimobi, said local governments remained unable to exercise full control over their statutory allocations. “Coming to financial autonomy, it is not yet working,” he said.
His argument is that the essence of autonomy is not merely to increase the amount of money available to councils but to allow elected local officials to decide how resources should be deployed to meet the specific needs of their communities.
He cited waste management, rural roads, agricultural support and transportation infrastructure as areas in which local governments could make a significant difference if they had direct access to their funds.
For farmers struggling to move perishable produce from rural communities to urban markets, for instance, a functional local government with sufficient resources could repair rural roads and provide infrastructure without waiting for the state government.
Aleshinloye contrasted Oyo with developments he said were taking place in Osun, where some council chairmen had been able to procure tractors, refuse trucks and other equipment. He also highlighted the dramatic increase in local government allocations over the years.
According to him, councils during his tenure received an average of about N60 million, compared with between N450 million and N600 million currently.
Yet, he stressed, increased allocations have not necessarily translated into greater autonomy.
Indeed, his argument captures the paradox at the heart of the current debate: local governments may be receiving more money than ever before but having little control over how that money is spent defeats the purpose of increased revenue.
Aleshinloye recalled the 2011 flood crisis, arguing that local officials are often the first point of contact when emergencies occur. “The first point of call is your councillor and your chairman,” he said.
His point is politically significant. If local governments are expected to respond to emergencies and deliver basic services, they must have the resources and authority to act without seeking permission from distant state authorities.
He called on the Federal Government to pursue the Supreme Court judgment to its logical conclusion by ensuring that allocations are transferred directly to local government accounts.
Efforts to obtain the position of the incumbent Oyo State ALGON chairman, Hon. Sikiru Sanda, were unsuccessful.
Ogun: autonomy on paper, uncertainty in practice
Ogun
In Ogun State, the debate has shifted partly to the legal framework required to give autonomy practical effect.
The Ogun State Government has consistently denied allegations that it withholds or hijacks local government funds, maintaining, among other things, that it sometimes augments council resources to enable them meet their obligations.
The State House of Assembly has also taken steps towards creating a legal framework for local government autonomy.
Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Daisi Elemide, said the 9th Assembly had already passed the relevant bill and forwarded it to the governor for assent.
“There is no controversy on the issue of local government autonomy. The 9th Assembly had since passed the bill and forwarded it to the governor for his assent, to make it a law,” Elemide said.
The statement suggests that, at least legislatively, Ogun has moved beyond debate towards institutionalising autonomy.
But whether the legal framework translates into actual financial independence remains another matter.
President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Ogun State, Adefesobi Adebayo, said the union could not independently determine whether councils were receiving their allocations directly from the Federation Account.
He said no local government had formally complained to the union that its monthly allocation had been tampered with.
Yet a senior local government employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, painted a sharply different picture.
The official alleged that local governments remained under the “tight grip” of the state government and that councils received only portions of their allocations for specific purposes after deductions or controls at the state level.
He claimed that although council chairmen might receive bank alerts showing substantial allocations, they did not have unfettered access to the funds.
According to him, the state government still dishes funds to the LGs, which he noted are far below their supposed monthly allocations.
He added that after paying the salary of staff, no LG has funds left to execute any developmental projects. The LG worker said all the LG chairmen dare not to complain of insufficient funds, otherwise he or she will lose his or her seat.
“Let me tell you the true situation of things, local governments in this state are still at the mercy of the state government. Local Government autonomy exists only on the paper, the state government still calls the shot. No LG in the state collects its allocation directly from the federation account without the interference from the state.
“Yes, the LG chairmen receive bank alerts of their LG allocations from Abuja, but, the money is like a tale of a chicken and corns sealed inside a bottle. They (chairmen) see the huge amount of money in the LG account, but, they don’t have access to the money. They rely on intermittent release of funds for projects, which are even determined by the state government.
“And I tell you, no chairman can challenge this anomaly since all of them were selected and not truly elected by the people. So, LGs are seriously suffocating under the pressure of the state government. They have no say on how their monthly allocations are handled.
“Anyway, I can’t blame the chairmen for their docility because they are actually not free to make decisions on projects capable of benefitting the grassroots, they wait for the directive of the state government on what projects to execute.
“In a nutshell, Local Governments’ money doesn’t get to them directly; the chairmen act according to the dictates of the state government”, he concluded.
These are serious allegations and could not be independently verified. But they illustrate why transparency is critical.
If councils are receiving their full allocations directly, the state should be able to demonstrate it through verifiable financial records.
Other News
Ondo
Ondo State appears to be taking a more cautious, reform-oriented approach. The state government says it has commenced moves to review its local government law to align it with the Supreme Court judgment.
Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Amidu Takuro, said the proposed review would provide the legal foundation for full implementation of local government autonomy.
“As of today, we are preparing our law that will reflect and align with the Supreme Court judgment for total implementation. The law of the land is supreme,” he said.
But the state government also maintains that some collective financial arrangements among the 18 councils are necessary to prevent poorer local governments from being disadvantaged.
Takuro argued that complete financial separation could leave some councils with insufficient resources while others have surpluses.
He cited obligations such as payment of severance gratuities to retired council workers as issues that may require collective arrangements.
The argument raises an important policy question: can cooperation among local governments coexist with financial autonomy?
The answer should be yes, provided such arrangements are transparent, lawful and voluntarily structured for the benefit of the councils rather than imposed as instruments of state control.
Ondo is also encouraging councils to improve internally generated revenue, although the commissioner noted that tax reforms and restrictions on multiple taxation had created new challenges.
Ekiti
Ekiti State appears to have adopted a less confrontational approach. Governor Biodun Oyebanji has urged local governments to use financial autonomy to improve service delivery and strengthen grassroots development.
His administration has also organised capacity-building programmes for council executives, legislators and senior officials on financial management and the challenges associated with autonomous local government administration.
The state government maintains that the governor has honoured his pledge not to interfere with council funds and has encouraged councils to improve fiscal discipline.
Ekiti’s approach offers an alternative to the politics of confrontation: autonomy need not mean a breakdown in cooperation between state and local governments. A state government can coordinate and support councils without controlling their constitutional resources.
Osun
Osun presents the most complicated and politically charged case in the region.
There, the autonomy debate has become inseparable from a fierce struggle over who legitimately controls the local councils.
The conflict involves former APC local government chairmen, newly elected PDP-aligned officials and competing claims over the expiration or continuation of council tenures.
The APC chairmen, whose tenure was originally expected to end in October 2025, have insisted that they are entitled to remain in office, arguing that their earlier removal by Governor Ademola Adeleke cut short their constitutionally recognised tenure.
The Adeleke administration, meanwhile, conducted a fresh local government election on February 22, 2025, producing another set of chairmen and councillors.
The dispute has remained in court.
Yet while politicians battle over legitimacy, the financial implications are enormous.
Chairman of ALGON in Osun State, Hon. Abiodun Idowu, insists that local government autonomy is already operational.
According to him, councils prepare their own budgets, secure approval from their legislative arms and operate without reference to either the state or Federal Government.
“Though we still encounter some bottlenecks as a result of court pronouncements and impediments, autonomy has come to stay in Osun State because we are operating independently in line with the Supreme Court judgment,
“We are operating independently, we are preparing our budgets independently, we are getting approval from our councillors independently without reference to either state or federal, we are operating our executives council at the local government level and our legislative arm of government is functioning effectively.
“So, the issue of tenure issue and determinations, which we are fighting in the court is the only cog in the wheel. As far as operation is concerned in Osun state here, we are operating independently.
“And why do I say that, we prepare our budget on our own, we present the budget to our legislative arm for approval, the approval has been granted by the legislative arm and we are operating within the limit of the available resources,”Idowu stated.
He explained that councils are independently preparing budgets, securing legislative approvals from councillors, and executing administrative functions without state or federal interference.
However, he acknowledged that funding has been severely restricted due to ongoing litigation.
Conversely, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Dosu Babatunde, strongly disputed claims of true autonomy, describing the situation as political manipulation and financial illegality.
He said, “Even though financial autonomy has been granted to local governments by the Supreme Court judgment, it has not been implemented anywhere across the 36 states except in Osun, where it is being used for political reasons.
“If you follow the story about Osun State, elections were conducted by the government of the day, the PDP accord government of Governor Adeleke. After the erstwhile local government officials had been sacked by the court in 2022. So another election was conducted on February 2025 by the PDP/Accord by Osun State Government. And officials were elected. Councillors, chairmen were duly elected there, but before then, there have been issues.
“The Yes/No chairmen just came up from nowhere, and ever since, the federal government has refused to send the allocation meant for the local government that is, to send it to Osun state.
“Rather, the money is being sent to the APC Yes/No chairmen, who have no access to the council. The officials of the council were not part of it. To spend the official money of the local government, the director of finance, director of administration must be involved.
“We don’t know how the money meant for Osun state government were being given to the APC chairmen, and we don’t know what they are doing about it,” the commissioner stated.
He alleged that federal allocations meant for the state’s local councils are being improperly routed to the APC chairmen, whom he referred to as “Yes/No chairmen,” without the involvement of statutory council officials like directors of finance and administration.
Addressing the APC’s security procurements, the commissioner dismissed them as unauthorized spending.
“They were just spending money the way they liked, part of which was used to buy vehicles for the police without appropriation or the knowledge of responsible local government officials. What we are seeing is not autonomy; it is political victimization and illegality,” Babatunde added.
Efforts to reach the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Wale Egbedun, to comment on whether the assembly would consent to any national legislative bills regarding autonomy were unsuccessful, as calls and messages went unanswered.
The unfinished business
Two years after the Supreme Court judgment, the South-West has become a laboratory for the competing interpretations of local government autonomy.
Lagos says autonomy is already working.
Oyo’s former ALGON leadership says it remains largely absent.
Ogun has moved towards strengthening its legal framework but faces questions over actual implementation.
Ondo is reviewing its laws while defending collective financial arrangements.
Ekiti is promoting autonomy through capacity-building and assurances of non-interference.
Osun has turned autonomy into a battlefield in a wider struggle over council legitimacy.
The divergent experiences point to one conclusion: the Supreme Court may have settled the legal principle, but it did not by itself resolve the political structures that have sustained state control of local governments for decades.
That is where the Federal Government must now act. The implementation of the judgment cannot depend on political goodwill from individual governors. There must be a transparent, enforceable system under which every local government can independently verify what it is entitled to receive, what it actually receives and how the money is spent.
The Federal Government should also make public the outcome of the implementation process initiated after the judgment and explain the remaining obstacles.
At the state level, governments should publish monthly local government allocations and expenditure records.
Local councils, in turn, must understand that autonomy comes with greater responsibility. Direct access to funds must be matched by open budgets, independent audits, procurement transparency and meaningful citizen oversight.
The real beneficiaries of autonomy should not be governors, council chairmen or political parties.
They should be the residents of the communities whose roads remain impassable, whose health centres lack basic equipment, whose markets need sanitation, whose farmers struggle with transportation and whose emergencies require immediate government response.
Two years after the Supreme Court spoke, the South-West has shown that the battle is no longer about whether local government autonomy is desirable.
The battle is over whether Nigeria’s political class is prepared to let it work.
Until that question is answered, the Supreme Court judgment will remain what it was on the day it was delivered, a landmark legal victory whose promise is yet to be fully translated into political reality.
