By Godfrey AKON
Governors of the 36 states are planning how to respond to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), instituting a suit on behalf of the Federal Government, before the Supreme Court on full autonomy for local governments.
The FG in a suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, urged the apex court to issue an order, prohibiting state governors from unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected LG leaders.
The suit which is predicted on 27 grounds, contended that Nigeria as a federation, is a creation of the 1999 Constitution with the President, as the head of the Federal Executive arm of the Federation, and has sworn to uphold and give effects to the provisions of the Constitution.
In the suit which accused the state governors of gross misconduct and abuse of power, the AGF sued them through their respective state Attorney-Generals.
Fagbemi prayed that the Supreme Court for an order to allow the credits of LGs to be directly paid to them from the Federation Account in line with the provisions of the Constitution as against the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
This will not be the first time the issue of local government autonomy will be on the table. In the 9th National Assembly, there was proposed legislation financial and legislative autonomy for local governments.
But 27 states, only 24 required, voted against that provision. The states were Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, and Edo.
Others are Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Rivers, and Yobe.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2020 through an Executive Order signed outright financial autonomy to the judiciary, legislature as well as the local government councils, as the third tier of government is highly commendable.
The order also mandates the Accountant-General of the federation to deduct from source amount due to state legislatures and judiciaries from the monthly allocation to each state for states that refuse to grant such autonomy.
The Abuja Inquirer learnt from the secretariat of the Nigerian Governors Forum that the governors will be meeting on the matter after the May 29 celebrations and present a united front against the FG’s move.
“Be assured that the governors will be meeting as quickly as possible on this matter. This is stripping them of their constitutional powers including the state assemblies. This attempt will fail,” an official of the NGF stated.
Before the meeting, the minister also applied for an order of injunction restraining the governors, their agents and privies from receiving, spending or tampering with funds released from the Federation Account for the benefit of LGs.
The FG further sought an order stopping governors from constituting caretaker committees to run the affairs of LGs as against the constitutionally-recognised and guaranteed democratic system.
In a 13-paragragh affidavit in support of the originating summons deposed to by one Kelechi Ohaeri from the Federal Ministry of Justice, averred that the AGF instituted the suit against the governors under the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court on behalf of the FG.
The summon partly read, “That the governors represent the component states of the Federation with Executive Governors who have also sworn to uphold the Constitution and to at all times, give effects to the constitution and that the constitution, being the supreme law, has binding force all over the federation of Nigeria.
“That the constitution of Nigeria recognises federal, states and local governments as three tiers of government and that the three recognised tiers of government draw funds for their operation and functioning from the Federation Account created by the Constitution.
“That by the provisions of the constitution, there must be a democratically elected local government system and that the constitution has not made provisions for any other systems of governance at the local government level other than the democratically elected local government system.”
