The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has raised the alarm over the continued delay in implementing the Supreme Court ruling that granted financial autonomy to local government councils.
The attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, Lateef Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had on behalf of the federal government sued the 36 states over the manner the governors are running the local governments’ funds.
In the suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, the AGF also prayed the court for an order prohibiting state governors from unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government executives.
LEADERSHIP reports that state governors’ stranglehold on local government funds through the State/LG joint account had stifled that tier of government and restricted grassroots development in the country.
But exactly one year after the Supreme Court delivered its landmark judgement affirming full financial autonomy for the 774 local governments in Nigeria, the ruling remains unimplemented across states, a development NULGE described as a deliberate affront to grassroots development.
In an interview with LEADERSHIP, NULGE’s National President Aliyu Haruna Kankara accused state governors of orchestrating a deliberate scheme to undermine the landmark judgement, thereby stifling grassroots development and jeopardising the welfare of local government workers.
Kankara also warned that the union may resort to a nationwide strike if the federal government fails to enforce the ruling.
Kankara attributed the delay in implementing local government financial autonomy to purely political manoeuvres by state governments.
He alleged that governors have been unrelenting in their opposition to the LG autonomy, complicating access to LG funds even after the Supreme Court’s unequivocal ruling in 2024.
“There is absolutely nothing stopping this judgement from being implemented except the governors, who have ganged up against Nigerians by hijacking LG funds. It’s not a matter of legal bottlenecks; it’s pure political resistance”, the union leader told LEADERSHIP.
A Supreme Court ruling last year mandated that funds allocated to local governments be paid directly into their accounts, bypassing state government control. However, one year after the judgement, Kankara lamented that the ruling had been unimplemented due to the lack of political will from both state and federal authorities.
As a result, he said, local councils are wallowing in financial distress.
Frustrated by the ongoing delays, the NULGE boss saig the union would intensify efforts to ensure the Supreme Court ruling is enforced.
Kankara revealed that the union would continue its advocacy campaigns while forging stronger alliances with civil society organisations, international agencies and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to mount pressure on the federal government.
“We are in a democracy where there should be checks and balances, If the government continues to delay implementation, we will meet at our various organ levels to review the situation and decide on the next line of action.” Kankara said.
When pressed on whether NULGE would consider a nationwide strike, Kankara affirmed the union’s readiness to take drastic measures.
“As a trade union, we have many options, and strike action is one of them, the NLC is strongly behind us. The president of the Congress recently reiterated their commitment to this cause,” Kankara added.
NULGE also appealed to President Bola Tinubu to uphold the rule of law and protect his administration’s legacy.
He reminded Tinubu of his own fight for local government autonomy during his tenure as Lagos State governor, a battle Tinubu won against the federal government at the time.
“My appeal to President Bola Tinubu is simple: do not allow a group of people to tarnish the image of your government; ganging up against local government autonomy is ganging up against Nigerians, against the common people. I urge the president to muster the political will to enforce the Supreme Court’s decision,” he said.
