*21 local government areas, as listed in the First Schedule, Part I of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. The list is constitutional, not administrative: a state may create development areas, but only an alteration of the Constitution can create a local government that draws from the Federation Account. Section 162(5)–(8) routes each council's share through a State Joint Local Government Account controlled by the state government — the arrangement the Supreme Court ruled against in Attorney-General of the Federation v. Attorney-General of Abia State & 35 Ors (11 July 2024), holding that allocations must go directly to democratically elected councils.*
The 21 councils#
- Demsa
- Fufore
- Ganye
- Girei
- Gombi
- Guyuk
- Hong
- Jada
- Lamurde
- Madagali
- Maiha
- Mayo-Belwa
- Michika
- Mubi North
- Mubi South
- Numan
- Shelleng
- Song
- Toungo
- Yola North
- Yola South
Notes on the roster#
Madagali, Michika and Mubi North were overrun by Boko Haram in 2014 and administered from exile in Yola for months — the local government secretariats, and the allocation that flows through them, were the first thing the insurgency captured.
References
Sources#
- Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), First Schedule Part I
- INEC local government delimitation register
- Supreme Court of Nigeria, SC/CV/343/2024, judgment of 11 July 2024 (local government financial autonomy)