The Federal Government has initiated legal proceedings against the Governors of all 36 states in Nigeria, filing a case at the Supreme Court. The action alleges misconduct in the management of Local Government Areas (LGAs) and seeks to grant full autonomy to these areas as the third tier of government.
In the suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, is petitioning the apex court to issue orders preventing governors from unilaterally dissolving democratically elected local government leaders and to ensure that funds allocated to LGAs are directly channeled to them from the Federation Account, as per constitutional provisions.
Furthermore, the Federal Government seeks to halt the appointment of Caretaker Committees by governors to oversee local government affairs, insisting on the adherence to democratically elected systems as constitutionally guaranteed.
The grounds for the suit assert that the failure of governors to establish democratically elected local government systems violates the Constitution, and the Federal Government argues that disbursing funds to governors without elected local governments undermines constitutional integrity.
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In the affidavit deposed by Kelechi Ohaeri from the Federal Ministry of Justice, it’s emphasized that the Constitution recognizes democratically elected local government councils, and funds from the Federation Account should be allocated accordingly.
The Federal Government plans to present various news publications as evidence to highlight the national importance and public interest in granting autonomy to LGAs during the court proceedings.
The Supreme Court has scheduled May 30 for the hearing of the case.
