Lawmaker Urges Compliance With Judgement On LG Autonomy

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Hon. Oluwole Oke, has asked state governments across the country to comply immediately and fully with the Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy.

The lawmaker representing Obokun- Oriade federal constituency of Osun state, said  the decision was binding and not open to legislative or executive discretion.

This is just as President Bola Tinubu at the National Executive Committee of the APC on Friday warned state governors that he may be forced to issue an Executive Order to enforce direct allocations to local governments if they fail to comply with the Supreme Court ruling that affirmed financial autonomy for local government councils.

Oke in a statement titled, “Local Government Autonomy and the Rule of Law: Why States Must Comply, Not Confront,” said Nigeria’s constitutional democracy is founded on the supremacy of the Constitution and the finality of judicial interpretation.

The Osun lawmaker stressed that once the Supreme Court has spoken, all arms and levels of government are duty-bound to obey.

He said recent pronouncements by the apex court on the administration and financial autonomy of Local Governments had reignited debates nationwide, but maintained that personal or political opinions could not override constitutional obligations.

“Under Section 235 of the 1999 Constitution, the Supreme Court is the final court of the land. Its decisions are not advisory or optional. They represent the authoritative meaning of the Constitution itself,”Oke said.