LGA Autonomy: FG Drags 36 Governors to the Supreme Court
Over purported misbehaviour in the management of local government areas, the Federal Government has filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court against the governors of the 36 states that make up the Federation.
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, filed the lawsuit seeking complete autonomy for every local government region in the nation.
The Federal Government asked the court in particular to make an order forbidding state governors from unilaterally, arbitrarily, and unlawfully dissolving heads of democratically elected local governments.
Through the different Attorneys General, the 36 governors were sued.
In addition, the lawsuit asks for an injunction permitting local governments to get money directly from the federation account in compliance with the constitution, as opposed to the purportedly unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
In addition, the Federal Government requested an order from the Supreme Court prohibiting governors from establishing caretaker committees to manage local government operations in violation of the established and accepted democratic system in the constitution.
When no democratically elected local government system is implemented in the states, it equally sought for an order of injunction prohibiting the governors, their agents, and privies from receiving, spending, or manipulating with monies released from the federation account for the benefit of local governments.
The Federal Government contended that Nigeria, as a federation, was a creation of the 1999 Constitution as modified, with the president as head of the federal executive arm swearing on oath to uphold and give effect to provisions of the constitution.
Together with executive governors who have also pledged to respect the constitution at all times, the governors represent the constituent states of the federation, the Federal Government informed the Supreme Court.
It maintains that the three acknowledged levels of government—federal, state, and local—draw money from the federation account established by the Nigerian constitution to operate and function.
“That the constitution has not provided for any alternative forms of local government at the local government level other than the democratically elected local government system, and that there must be a democratically elected local government system by its provisions.
Even in cases when no state of emergency has been declared to justify the suspension of democratic institutions in the state, the governors have failed and refused to implement a democratically elected local government system in violation of the constitution.
The governors have vowed to protect the 1999 constitution, which they have purposefully undermined by failing to establish a democratically elected local government system.
“That all attempts to make the governors comply with the 1999 constitution in terms of putting in place, a democratically elected local government system, has not yielded any result and that to continue to disburse funds from the federation account to governors for non-existing democratically elected local government is to undermine the sanctity of the 1999 constitution.
That the federal government is not required under section 162 of the constitution to pay any state, funds standing to the credit of local governments where no democratically elected local government is in place, in light of the violations of the 1999 constitution.
The hearing date set by the Supreme Court is May 30.