The Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Abia State chapter, Chinedu Ekeke, has explained why federal allocations meant for local governments are still paid through the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) instead of being remitted directly to councils.
Ekeke said the delay is linked to the Federal Government’s ongoing effort to figure out how to implement the Supreme Court judgement granting financial autonomy to local government areas nationwide.
He spoke on Friday at the Government House in Umuahia while responding to allegations by an opposition figure that Governor Alex Otti was hijacking funds meant for rural development.
Speaking on behalf of other local government chairmen in Abia, Ekeke dismissed the claims, insisting that councils were not being starved of funds by the state government.
“On the Supreme Court judgement, the local governments are funded from the JAAC accounts because the funds go to the JAAC accounts. They don’t come to the local governments straight.
“The Federal government is probably trying to look for a way to handle that”, Ekeke said.
