The Supreme Court has reserved its judgement on the lawsuit filed by the Federal Government to secure full autonomy for the 774 Local Government Areas across Nigeria.
This significant legal battle revolves around the Federal Government’s push to ensure local governments operate independently of state control, which has implications for the distribution and management of public funds.
On Thursday, a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Garba Lawal, announced that it was ready to deliberate on the matter after hearing arguments from both sides. The arguments were presented by the governors of the 36 states of the Federation through their respective Attorney-Generals, who had submitted their briefs.
The states, in their preliminary objections, requested the dismissal of the suit with substantial costs, arguing that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who filed the suit on behalf of the Federal Government, lacked the locus standi (legal right) to do so. They also alleged that the AGF violated their right to a fair hearing by not providing them with a copy of a further affidavit he had filed in support of the suit.
Further objections from some states claimed that they already have democratically elected local government officials in place, making the Federal Government’s suit an abuse of judicial process. After considering these objections and the responses from all parties involved, the panel led by Justice Lawal stated it would notify them of the date for the final judgement.
The Federal Government’s lawsuit, marked SC/CV/343/2024, seeks the Supreme Court’s endorsement of full autonomy for all LGAs as the third tier of government. Specifically, the Federal Government is asking the court to:
1. Prohibit state governors from unilaterally dissolving democratically elected local government leaders.
2. Allow local government funds to be directly transferred from the Federation Account, in accordance with the Constitution, rather than through the allegedly unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
3. Stop governors from forming Caretaker Committees to manage local governments, insisting on a constitutionally recognized democratic system.
4. Issue an injunction preventing governors and their agents from handling funds meant for local governments when no democratically elected local government system exists in their states.
The Federal Government’s argument emphasizes that Nigeria, as a federation, is governed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended), with the President obligated to uphold and enforce its provisions.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Thursday denied the applications from Speakers of the Houses of Assembly of some states who sought to join the lawsuit as interested parties. The court’s decision on this matter will be communicated to the concerned parties at a later date.