The federal government has sued the 36 state governments for their opposition to move to grant full autonomy to the local governments in the country.
The office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice filed suit SC/CV/343/2024 at the Supreme Court seeking an order to grant the independence and autonomy of the 774 local government areas in the country.
Although the Local Governments are recognized under the Nigerian Constitution as the third tier of the government after the Federal and State Governments, the governors in the 36 State have, over the years, exerted over-bearing influence on the management of theirs affairs, particulars on issues relating to their funding from the Federation Account.
Monthly allocations to the Local governments from the Federation Account are usually disbursed to them through their respective state governments, which usually retain such funds in joint accounts and releasing the same to the local governments based certain agreed terms.
Inn some States, funds are usually release based on requests for finances submitted to the governors for the execution of approved programmes and projects without the local governments authorities having a say in the management of the funds.
In the suit, the federal government wants the apex court to issue an order barring state governors from unilateral and arbitrarily embark on projects without the involvement of the Local Government authorities, or unlawfully dissolve democratically elected local government administration in the country
The Attorney General of the Federation. Lateef Fagbemi also asked the Supreme Court to order that local governments funds from the Federation Account be transferred to them directly in line with the provisions of the Constitution as against the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
Also, Fagbemi urged the court to stop the governors from further constituting caretaker committees to oversee the administration of local governments affairs in the country in violation of the constitutionally recognised and guaranteed democratic system.
The AGF further asked the court to grant an injunction restraining the State 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 in place in the states.
The suit is a response to filings by the 36 state governors through their respective Attorneys General and Commissioners for Justice against the autonomy of the Local Governments in the country.
The federal government contended that the Nigerian federation was a creation of the Constitution with a president as head of government whose key responsibility is to uphold the provisions of the Constitution.
Fagbemi argued that the Constitution recognises the three tiers of government – federal, state and local, adding that “by the provisions of the Constitution, there must be a democratically elected local government system, and that the Constitution has not made provisions for any other systems of governance at the local government level other than democratically elected local government system.”
Despite the statutory provisions, the AGF said “governors have failed and refused to put in place a democratically elected local government system even where no state of emergency has been declared to warrant the suspension of democratic institutions in the state.”
He said the failure of the governors to put democratically elected local government system in place was a deliberate subversion of the 1999 Constitution which they and the President have sworn to uphold.
“That all efforts to make the governors comply with the dictates of the 1999 Constitution in terms of putting in place, a democratically elected local government system, has not yielded any result, adding that the continued disbursement of funds from the Federation Account to governors for non-existing democratically elected local government was to undermine the sanctity of the 1999 Constitution.
In the face of the violations of the 1999 Constitution, Fagbemi said the federal government was not obligated under Section 162 of the Constitution to pay any State government funds belonging to local governments where no democratically elected local government is in place.
Hear on the suit has been scheduled for May 30.
