The Supreme Court declared on Thursday that it is unconstitutional for state governors to withhold funds meant for Local Government (LG) administrations.
In the lead judgment read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court observed that the state government’s refusal to grant financial autonomy to local governments has persisted for over two decades.
The court noted that local governments have stopped receiving the funds meant for them from the state governors who act in their place.
Justice Agim emphasized that the 774 local government councils in the country should be able to manage their funds independently.
He also dismissed the preliminary objections raised by the defendants (state governors).
There are 774 local government areas in the country but the efficiency of the third tier of government has been hampered by the weight of some controlling and overbearing governors who have been accused of mismanaging funds meant for the administration of local governments.
In the last few months, calls for local government autonomy have increased in Nigeria. President Bola Tinubu also supported the calls and in May, the Federal Government, through the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, sued the 36 state governors over alleged misconduct of local government funds.
Currently, the Federal Government gets 52.68%, and states get 26.72%. In comparison, LGs get 20.60% of the country’s monthly revenue allocated by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) which operates under the Presidency, and disbursed by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
Interestingly, LG funds are paid into a joint account operated by state governments and local governments in their domains.
In the suit filed by AGF, the Federal Government sought an order preventing the governors from arbitrarily dissolving democratically elected councils. The suit by the AGF was on 27 grounds.
The 36 state governors, who are defendants in the suit, opposed the AGF for instituting the case.
In his judgment, Justice Agim said the AGF has the right to institute the suit and protect the constitution.
The apex court consequently directed that Local Government allocation from the Federation Account should be paid directly to them henceforth.
More details later…
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