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The Senate has expressed its full support for the Supreme Court’s judgement of 11 August 2024, which granted financial autonomy to the 774 Local Government Councils across Nigeria.
During Wednesday’s plenary session, the Senate urged all three tiers of government to comply with the ruling and resolved to collaborate with the House of Representatives to amend specific provisions of the 1999 Constitution for effective implementation.
These resolutions followed motions sponsored by the Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau, and seconded by Senators Abdul Ningi and Tahir Monguno.
Barau said, “I move on behalf of this Senate, for the approval of two prayers in respect of the motion brought by Senator Tony Nwoye (Anambra North), thereby discarding the earlier prayers in the motion as presented by the mover.
“The two prayers are as follows: All states and local governments must fully comply with the recent Supreme Court judgement on the disbursement and utilisation of funds allocated to all local governments in Nigeria.
“That the Senate ensures amendments to the relevant provisions of the Constitution to provide for the full autonomy of local governments in Nigeria.”
However, the Senate’s resolutions came two hours after it encountered challenges regarding the enforceability of the Supreme Court judgement at the state and local government levels.
At the commencement of the plenary, Senator Tony Nwoye (LP, Anambra North) invoked Senate Standing Orders 41 and 51 to raise a motion about alleged moves by some state governments to circumvent the judgement by passing counter-laws through their respective State Houses of Assembly.
Nwoye, who informed the Senate that nine other senators co-sponsored the motion, specifically alleged that some state governors were enacting laws to mandate local government councils in their states to remit funds into the State/Local Government Joint Account, which had been ruled against by the Supreme Court.
After Nwoye’s presentation, which included six prayers for enforcing the judgement and was seconded by Senator Osita Izunaso (APC, Imo West), Senator Adamu Aliero (PDP, Kebbi Central) raised a constitutional point of order to stop the debate on the motion.
Citing Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution, which makes Supreme Court judgements enforceable nationwide, Aliero urged the Senate not to “over-flog” the issue.
He said, “Supreme Court judgements are enforceable across the country. There is no need for us to be debating anything related to it here.”
In agreement with Aliero, Senate President Godswill Akpabio highlighted Section 162, Subsection 6 of the 1999 Constitution, which created the State/Local Government Joint Account.
He noted that this provision must be amended to allow for the full implementation of the Supreme Court judgement.
Before a final decision could be made on the motion, Senator Nwoye invoked Order 42 of the Senate Standing Rules for a personal explanation, while Senator Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila (NNPP, Kano South) raised a similar point of order.
These simultaneous motions led to confusion, prompting many senators to consult with the Senate President, resulting in an emergency closed-door session at 12:46 p.m.
The emergency session, which lasted nearly two hours, concluded with the adoption of two separate motions moved by the Deputy President of the Senate.
