Borno state governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has approved the immediate commencement of direct payment of monthly statutory allocations to the accounts of the state’s 27 local government areas.
The approval was announced on Thursday by the Acting Governor, Alhaji Dr Umar Usman Kadafur, shortly after he presided over the swearing-in ceremony of the 27 newly elected local government chairpersons in Maiduguri.
Kadafur said the decision was in compliance with the Supreme Court judgment on local government autonomy and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s call to governors in December 2025 to strengthen governance at the grassroots.
According to him, the policy is aimed at empowering local government chairmen by granting them direct access to their funds, eliminating bureaucratic delays, and promoting transparency and accountability.
“You should be accessible to your people. You know our governor is dedicated to developing our state,” Kadafur told the chairmen.
“We are looking up to you at the grassroots to ensure that whatever goes to a local government chairman is managed transparently and accounted for, down to every naira and kobo. Borno State, I dare say, is the only state where local governments receive their allocations directly.”
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He described the policy as a demonstration of Governor Zulum’s commitment to transparent governance and confidence in the local government administrative system.
“This is a credit to His Excellency and reflects his belief in collective governance. The era of local governments complaining about bureaucracy in accessing funds is over,” he said.
Kadafur further disclosed that the state government would continue to publish details of allocations disbursed to local governments to enhance public accountability.
“We will continue to publish whatever is given to local government areas so that you can be held accountable for every resource collected on behalf of the people,” he added.
The acting governor also charged the newly sworn-in chairmen to prioritise staff welfare and ensure the prompt payment of salaries and entitlements.
“You must be guardians of every naira, running projects and programmes in line with the pillars of our 10-year development strategy,” he said.
“Focus on essentials that directly improve lives. There will be no more vanity projects. Timely payment of salaries and entitlements is non-negotiable. Productivity and discipline must be restored, and all workers must report promptly to their duty posts.”
