LG Autonomy: Supreme Court Reserves Judgement

The Supreme Court has reserved judgement in the federal government’s suit against the 36 state governors seeking full autonomy for the country’s 774 local governments.

Justice Garba Lawal told the parties that the date for the judgement would be communicated to them.
The apex court reserved the judgement after the seven-man panel of the court had adopted processes filed by the attorney-general of the federation (AGF), Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) on behalf of the federal government and those of the 36 state governors.

At yesterday’s proceedings, the AGF Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, pleaded with the Supreme Court to grant all the reliefs sought by the federal government in the suit.

However, the governors, through their respective State Attorneys General and Commissioners for Justice, opposed the federal government’s request and asked the court to dismiss the suit.
Fagbemi initiated the legal action against the governors on behalf of the federal government, primarily seeking full autonomy for local governments as one of the country’s three tiers of government.

In the suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, the AGF is praying the Apex Court for an order restraining state governors from unilaterally, arbitrarily and unlawfully dissolving democratically elected local government leaders.

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In the original summons, which he personally signed, the Chief Counsel of the Federation also petitions the Supreme Court for an order to channel the funds in the local governments’ appropriations directly to them from the Federation Account in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution against the alleged illegal joint accounts created by the governors.

He also sought the order of the Apex Court to prevent the governors from constituting inner committees to conduct the affairs of the local governments against the democratically recognised and guaranteed system.

In addition, the federal government has sought an order prohibiting governors, agents and their privies from receiving, spending or handling funds released from the Federation Account for the benefit of local governments when no democratically elected local government system is in place.

The governors were sued through their respective state attorneys-general.
The suit is predicated on 27 grounds, including the fact that the Federation of Nigeria was created by the 1999 Constitution, with the president as the head of the federal executive arm and sworn to uphold and implement the provisions of the Constitution.