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SERAP Pressures CBN to Disclose Direct Payments to Local Governments

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, to confirm whether the apex bank has begun direct disbursement of Federation Account allocations to the country’s 774 local government councils in line with a Supreme Court ruling.

In a Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated May 10, 2025, and signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the group also asked the CBN to publish allocation details for each council, particularly those paid to local governments in Rivers State.

The Supreme Court’s July 2024 judgment mandated that only democratically elected local councils are entitled to receive federal allocations directly, barring state governors and other intermediaries from controlling the funds.

“The CBN ought to act in the public interest to ensure that the 774 councils in the country directly get their own allocations from the Federation Account,” SERAP stated, accusing state governors of defying the court’s directive and starving local governments of funds, thereby crippling grassroots governance.

SERAP warned that continued noncompliance undermines the rule of law and the CBN’s credibility, urging the bank to protect Nigeria’s federal structure and ensure the financial independence of local governments.

The group cited former President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2022 remarks about the rampant diversion of local government funds as further proof of long-standing abuse. “If the money from the Federation Account to the State is about N100m, N50m will be sent to the chairman but he will sign that he received N100m,” Buhari had said.

With reports that the 774 councils have opened dedicated accounts with the CBN, SERAP has given the apex bank seven days to respond or face legal action to compel disclosure.

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