In a bold move to enforce federalism, the Federal Government has filed a lawsuit against the Governors of the 36 States of the Federation at the Supreme Court over alleged misconduct in the administration of Local Government Areas, LGAs.
In the suit marked: SC/CV/343/2024, which was filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the government is seeking full autonomy for all LGAs in the country as the third tier of government.
It specifically prayed the apex court to issue an order, prohibiting state governors from embarking on unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders.
As well as for an order permitting the funds standing in the credits of local governments to be directly channelled to them from the Federation Account in line with the provisions of the Constitution as against the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
It prayed the Supreme Court for an order, stopping governors from further constituting Caretaker Committees to run the affairs of local governments as against the Constitutionally recognized and guaranteed democratic system.
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It equally applied for an order of injunction, restraining the governors, their agents and privies, from receiving, spending or tampering with funds released from the Federation Account for the benefits of local governments when no democratically elected local government system is put in place in the states.
In the 27 grounds it listed in support of the suit, the government argued that Nigeria, as a federation, was a creation of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, with the President, as Head of the Federal Executive Arm, swearing on oath to uphold and give effects to provisions of the Constitution.
About 323 of the 774 local councils are reported to be without elected chairmen and councillors.
This is contrary to Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which guarantees the system of local government by democratically elected officials
However, 451 LGAs across 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, have elected LGAs, according to checks.
In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that councils without elected officials should not receive federal allocation, but this is yet to be implemented.
The move to ensure direct allocations to the councils via the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, guidelines on the management of local governments’ funds guidelines in 2019 was aborted by governors.
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