A coalition of youth groups and civil society organisations from Kogi, yesterday, issued a 21-day ultimatum to the state government to take concrete steps towards implementing full local government autonomy in line with constitutional provisions.

The groups, led by the Igala Youth Council Worldwide, made the demand at a press conference in Abuja, where they also presented a review of allocation figures for three local government areas, including Dekina, Yagba East, and Adavi, for 2024 and part of 2025.

President-General of the council, Onogu Collins, pointed out that the analysis of publicly available records showed gaps between allocations received and salary expenditure across the councils.

He said the observation called for clarification and improved oversight.

On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that local governments must receive their allocations directly from the Federation Account, describing the long-standing practice of routing the funds through state governments as unconstitutional, he recalled.

In response, the Federal Government constituted an inter-agency panel to oversee implementation of the ruling and directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to open individual accounts for each of the 774 local government councils across the country to facilitate direct disbursements,” the group further observed.

But the process remains largely unimplemented, it stated.

Collins said the organisations were not making allegations but calling for transparency to strengthen grassroots governance.