A high court in Kano State has issued a permanent order restraining the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from withholding funds allocated to the 44 local government areas (LGAs) of the state.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Ibrahim Musa-Muhammad, came after an ex parte motion filed on November 1 by the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ibrahim Muhammed, and five others. The motion sought to prevent the respondents from withholding or delaying allocations essential for local governance.
Among the respondents were the accountant-general of the federation (AGF), the CBN, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the 44 Kano LGAs, and several commercial banks, including United Bank for Africa and Access Bank.
In November, the court issued an interim order preventing the CBN and AGF from withholding funds for the 44 LGAs pending the determination of the suit. Delivering his final judgment on Monday, Justice Musa-Muhammad ruled in favor of the applicants, affirming that they had established their case.
“The AGF, CBN, and RMAFC are under a duty to disburse monthly allocations to the 44 LGAs as democratically elected local government councils,” the judge declared.
He further emphasized that withholding the allocations would violate the fundamental rights of residents in the 44 local government councils, citing sections of the Nigerian Constitution.
“A declaration that withholding these allocations would amount to a breach of the fundamental rights of the residents, inhabitants in the 44 local government councils, as guaranteed under Sections 33, 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended),” the ruling stated.
Justice Musa-Muhammad also referenced the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, noting that excluding the 44 LGAs from the federation account distribution contradicts its provisions.
“It would be wrong according to Articles 13, 19, 22, and 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights for the AGF, CBN, and RMAFC to exclude the 44 LGAs in the distribution of funds accruing from the Federation Account, in line with Section 162(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended),” he said.
With this ruling, the court has reinforced the constitutional requirement that local government funds must be distributed without interference, ensuring financial autonomy for Kano’s 44 LGAs.
Legal analysts and stakeholders in Kano have welcomed the ruling, calling it a landmark decision that upholds the constitutional rights of local governments.
Speaking on the judgment, NULGE chairman Ibrahim Muhammed hailed it as a victory for grassroots governance.
“This ruling is a significant step towards ensuring that local governments receive their rightful allocations without political or bureaucratic interference,” he said.
A senior legal practitioner, Barrister Amina Yusuf, described the judgment as “a reinforcement of the principle of fiscal federalism”.
“The court has made it clear that local government allocations are a constitutional right, not a privilege that can be withheld at will,” Yusuf added.
