Checkout Magazine has learnt that Local Government Councils got N1.699 trillion from the federation account in the first half of this year.
Monthly releases by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics showed that the amounts distributed by Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to the 774 council varies.
The releases also indicated a huge rise in the fund received by the Local Governments during the period.
In January, N288.93 billion was credited to them by the commission; N278.04 billion in February; N267.15 billion in March; N288.69 billion in April; N293.82 billion in May, and 282.48 billion in June.
The allocations are crucial in paying the salaries of council workers and implementing community development projects.
Before the Supreme Court judgment in June, which ordered direct allocation from the federation account to the local government account, funds from local government were sent to the state/local government joint account, from where they were disbursed to the councils under the authority of governors.
The absence of development at grassroots is an indication that councils don’t get more than a little from what was allocated to them.
There are expectations that with direct funding to the local governments a greater development at the grassroots will be facilitated.
