Human rights activists are demanding accountability and transparency from the 18 local
government council chairmen in Cross River State over allocations received from the Federation
Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).
In particular, the activists, Odey Oyama and Okoi Obono-Obla are asking the 18 LG chairmen to
account for several billions of naira they received from the FAAC.
Oyama, who is an environmental defender and executive director of Rainforest Resource
Development Centre (RRDC) based in Ikom, has particularly called on the chairman of Ikom
Local Government Area, Mercy Nsor, to publish her administration’s blueprint, budget, and
financial records in line with transparency and accountability standards.
He cited official FAAC data showing that Ikom LGA received over N3.7 billion between
November 2024 and June 2025, yet the reported projects appear to be worth less than N50
million in a local government with sprawling development, but sorely exhibiting rural posture.
Ikom LGA, which is a border town with the Republic of Cameroon, depicts crass poor
governance. Most of its roads are unattended to. Healthcare is light years away from availability.
In the last one year, electricity supply to the town is completely absent. The zonal office of the
Port Harcourt Electricity distribution Company (PHEDC) looks more than abandoned. No
activity goes on here. Business A.M. undertook verification visits to the office, but the few staff
found there could only mutter a fleeting assurance that power will come. It is now one full year,
and residents go weekdays without the public mains.
Oyama said, “From the verifiable evidence on the ground, it appears that the total value of all the projects enumerated in your report may not exceed ₦50 million. However, official FAAC
disbursement records from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF)
indicate that the Ikom Local Government Council received a total of approximately ₦3.72 billion
between November 2024 and June 2025 alone,” he said.
He cited the period covered November 2024 – June 2025: total FAAC allocation
₦3,724,279,070.30. This amount represents monthly average inflows of about ₦465.5 million to
the Council, exclusive of internally generated revenue (IGR) and special grants.
According to the RRDC executive director, “These disclosures will not only enhance public
confidence in your administration but also reaffirm your commitment to accountable leadership
and prudent resource management. Madam Chairman, the people of Ikom deserve clarity on how over ₦3.7 billion in public funds has been applied within one year. Your proactive compliance with this request will set a commendable precedent in grassroots governance and strengthen trust between your office and the citizenry”.
For Obono-Obla, a legal practitioner and former presidential aide, lamented that allocations to
councils in Cross River—which have risen astronomically since 2023—“have been wasted, and
are nowhere to be found.” In particular, he accused local council authorities in the state of
turning the grassroots administration into “hotbeds of cultism, retrogression, decay, nepotism,
incompetence, and cluelessness”. He added that the system was in dire need of reform.
Obono-Obla urged the state government to stop meddling in council affairs and allow them to
function as genuine development centres.
“Local government area councils should become hubs of development that break the countryside free from the shackles of decay, scandalous underdevelopment, and chaotic poverty,” he said.
Business A.M. checks show that Cross River State along with its 18 LGAs received a total of
N265.22 billion from the FAAC between 2023 and June 2025.
In 2023, the state and its councils got N118.8 billion. In H1 2024, the state and the LGAs
received N40.08 billion, while it earned N106.34 billion from January to June 2025.
Oyama and Obono-Obla delivered a damning verdict on the LGAs, describing them as
“characterised by planlessness, hopelessness, purposelessness, rudderless, and governance of the worst and most unimaginable magnitude.”
