One of the 23 local government chairmen in Kaduna State has accused the administration of Governor Uba Sani of hijacking local government allocations, a situation they said has affected projects and development across the state’s local councils.

The allegation comes amid increasing complaints from residents over the alleged lack of visible projects in many local government areas nearly two years after the chairmen assumed office.

The council chairman, who spoke to SaharaReporters on Thursday on condition of anonymity, alleged that allocations meant for the councils were being controlled by the state government and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Sadiq Mamman Lagos.

The chairman said the alleged lack of financial autonomy has left many council chairmen unable to undertake meaningful projects in their respective local government areas.

“One of the biggest issues many local government chairmen are facing today is the lack of financial autonomy,” he said.

“The reality is that most councils cannot undertake meaningful projects because the funds are controlled from the top. In almost two years, it is difficult to point to a single landmark project commissioned directly by any chairman.”

The chairman further alleged that most council chairmen receive between ₦20 million and ₦30 million monthly from the state government despite each local government reportedly receiving between ₦500 million and ₦600 million from federation allocations.

“Most council chairmen receive between N20 million and N30 million monthly from the governor. The state government pays local government workers directly, and the shocking part is that allocations coming to each local government in Kaduna are between N500 million and N600 million,” he lamented.

“Honestly, most governors are sabotaging President Bola Tinubu’s ambition of implementing full local government autonomy,” the chairman added.

Another official familiar with local government finances described many council chairmen as “ceremonial administrators” with little control over public funds and development projects.

“What can ₦20 million or ₦30 million achieve when the federal government is sending over ₦500 million to the state?” he said.

“To be honest, most of the chairmen are even scared of visiting their local government areas, especially now that elections are approaching. The electorate keeps accusing them of non-performance when the problem is actually from the governor.”

The chairman also accused the Kaduna State Government of misleading the public regarding claims that full local government autonomy had been implemented in the state.

“Whenever the governor speaks on television, he always portrays himself as implementing full autonomy, but every civil servant knows that is not true. He is only trying to gain favour from the President,” the chairman claimed.

Meanwhile, in July 2024, the Supreme Court of Nigeria ruled that local governments across the country must have full financial and administrative autonomy.

The court specified that state governments cannot withhold or control federal allocations meant for councils, ensuring that local governments have direct access to funds to carry out their statutory responsibilities.

Despite the ruling, Kaduna’s councils have continued to operate under limited budgets. Officials said the lack of funds affects day-to-day administration, including payment of casual staff, security operations, and basic overhead costs.