*17 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 17 councils#
- Bade
- Bursari
- Damaturu
- Fika
- Fune
- Geidam
- Gujba
- Gulani
- Jakusko
- Karasuwa
- Machina
- Nangere
- Nguru
- Potiskum
- Tarmuwa
- Yunusari
- Yusufari
Notes on the roster#
Gujba LGA contains Buni Yadi, where 59 schoolboys were killed in February 2014; Bursari contains Dapchi, where 110 schoolgirls were taken in February 2018. Both attacks happened in local governments the state was formally administering at the time.
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)