Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria received N1.42 trillion from federal allocations in the first five months of 2024. This amount is 73% of what states received (N1.95 trillion) and 75% of the federal government’s allocation (N1.88 trillion) during the same period.
According to the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) reports from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), this represents a 47% increase from the N963.9 billion LGAs received in the same period in 2023.
The data shows significant monthly increases in allocations from January to May compared to last year.
“In January, LGAs received N288.93 billion, a 30% increase from N221.81 billion in 2023. February saw a 52% rise, with allocations jumping to N278.04 billion from N183.23 billion. March had a 54% increase, rising to N267.15 billion from N173.94 billion. April saw the largest jump, with a 69% increase to N288.69 billion from N171.26 billion. In May, allocations rose by 38%, reaching N293.82.
“Month-over-month trends in 2024 showed some variability. Allocations decreased from N288.93 billion in January to N278.04 billion in February and continued to drop to N267.15 billion in March. However, April saw an 8.07% rise to N288.69 billion, and May continued the positive trend with a 1.78% increase to N293.82 billion.”
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Lagos LGAs were the biggest beneficiaries of these allocations. The top 20 LGAs receiving the most funds were all in Lagos, “with Alimosho leading at N9.27 billion, followed by Ajeromi/Ifelodun (N7.42 billion), Kosofe (N7.33 billion), Mushin (N7.24 billion), and Oshodi/Isolo (N7.21 billion).”
The current revenue-sharing formula “allocates 52.68% of the revenue to the federal government, 26.72% to states, and 20.60% to local governments.”
This distribution enables each level of government to meet its obligations.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria recently criticized state governments for exploiting LGAs for decades and ordered the federal government to pay the 20.6% allocation directly to the accounts of 774 LGAs for their development.
This decision followed a suit by the federal government seeking to prevent state governors from spending or tampering with the allocations meant for local governments.