LG Autonomy: Tinubu Makes Fresh Demand From 36 Govs After Supreme Court Call Out
President Bola Tinubu has called out the 36 governors of the federation to hand over the allocations of the local government to the councils, in compliance with the judgment of the Supreme Court.
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The president maintained that the local government areas would not have autonomy if they did not get the funds as directed by the Supreme Court.
Source: Twitter
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Vanguard reported that the president made the call while speaking at the 14th national caucus meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which was held at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja on Thursday, December 18.
The president also urged the governors and all stakeholders in the party to get connected with the grassroots, and they should be flexible in their actions. He also commented on the state of insecurity in the country, adding that he has promised the United States and the United Kingdom that Nigeria would soon have state police.
Supreme Court calls out FG
This came days after the Supreme Court called on 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, he, however, urged the federal government to fully implement its ruling, which granted fiscal autonomy to all the 7774 local government areas in the country.
Supreme Court declares 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: Legit.ng
