LG Autonomy: Supreme Court Calls Out FG, Details Emerge
- The Supreme Court has called out the federal government over its failure to implement its judgment granting financial autonomy to the 774 local governments in Nigeria
- Justice Mohammed Idris of the Supreme Court made the call while delivering the court's verdict on the suit filed by the Osun state government against the federal government
- Osun had filed the suit before the apex court to compel the federal government to release the withheld local government allocations, which the court dismissed and gave reasons
The Supreme Court has urged the federal government to implement its earlier judgment granting financial autonomy to the 774 local government areas in Nigeria. The court made the call while giving its verdict on the suit filed by the Osun state government to compel the federal government to release the allocations of the local governments in the state.
Justice Mohammed Idris of the Supreme Court, while upholding the Attorney General of the Federation's preliminary objection challenging the competence of the apex court in the suit, it, however, urged the federal government to fully implement its ruling, which granted fiscal autonomy to all the 7774 local government areas in the country.
Source: Twitter
Why Supreme Court dismissed Osun suit
The court then dismissed the application of the Osun state government, stating that the local government is an autonomous entity that can sue and be sued. It maintained that the state government did not have the legal backing to institute a case on behalf of the 30 local governments in Osun because they have their own autonomy.
Justice Idris ruled that the LGCs were the right parties that could challenge the action of the federal government, adding that the Supreme Court did not have the requisite jurisdiction to welcome the case. He also dismissed the argument of the Osun state Attorney General that the suit was of public interest.
Osun has been at loggerheads with the federal government over the allocation of the local governments in the state since the emergence of Governor Ademola Adeleke in 2022, when he sacked local government chairmen elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) through a court, a decision which was overturned by a Court of Appeal in Ondo state, a decision the state has often denied.
Supreme Court declared autonomy for LGs
The Supreme Court, in 2024, granted financial autonomy to the 7774 local governments in Nigeria. This judgment ended the joint accounts operated between the states and the local governments.
In its judgment, the Supreme Court held that it was unconstitutional for state governors not to conduct elections for local government chairmen and councillors. Therefore, the court abolished the appointment of caretaker committees by some governors to manage the affairs of the LGs in their states.
The apex court also empowered the federal government to withhold the allocation of any local government where an election into the offices of the chairman and councillors has not been held.
Source: Facebook
Presidency shares when LG receive allocation directly
Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu's administration disclosed that the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment on local government autonomy will commence in January end.
The Supreme Court ruled in July 2024 that the states did not have the constitutional right to have control over the funds of the local government.
Sunday Dare, the spokesperson to Tinubu, said the implementation was delayed to allow some mechanism to be put in place and has now been achieved.
Source: Legit.ng
