The Executive Chairperson of Ado North Local Government in Ekiti State, Olatokunbo Gbadamosi, says local governments are now better able to perform because their allocations have increased.

She spoke on the sidelines of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign rally in Ado-Ekiti, where the party was drumming up support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid under the Renewed Hope banner.

Vice President Kashim Shettima and members of the party’s National Working Committee were at the rally, which has been described as the first of its kind in the Southwest.

Gbadamosi’s remarks tie into a message APC figures have been pushing across the state. They credit the Tinubu administration’s reforms with boosting funding for the lower tiers of government, and they cite federal road projects, including the Ado-Ekiti to Akure corridor, as evidence of the administration’s impact. Ekiti Governor Biodun Oyebanji has also expressed confidence that the president will enjoy strong support in the state.

The figures show that local government funding has indeed grown. An analysis of Federation Account Allocation Committee data shows that councils received about N5.98 trillion between July 2025 and June 2026, up from N4.5 trillion in the previous 12-month period.

That is an increase of roughly 33 per cent, with the average monthly allocation to councils rising from about N375 billion to nearly N499 billion.

How much of that money reaches the councils directly remains a live question nationally. The Supreme Court ruled in July 2024 that local governments are entitled to financial autonomy and should receive their allocations directly.

However, reports indicate that many states still route the funds through the State Joint Local Government Account, which keeps governors involved in how council money is managed.

President Tinubu has urged governors to comply with the judgment, and civil society groups and opposition parties have called on governors to show what the larger inflows have achieved.