LG Autonomy: Supreme Court Delivers Final Judgement In Case Against 36 Governors

The Supreme Court will deliver its judgment on the suit seeking full autonomy for the 774 local governments in Nigeria on Thursday, July 11.

The notices about it have been sent to all lawyers involved in the case.

The Federal Government filed the suit against all 36 states of the federation, with Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi leading the effort. The suit includes a request for an order preventing Governors from arbitrarily dissolving democratically elected local councils.

Additionally, the Federal Government has asked the apex court to authorize the direct transfer of funds from the federation account to local governments, as mandated by the Constitution. The suit is based on 27 grounds.

The originating summons states, “The Constitution of Nigeria recognizes federal, state, and local governments as three tiers of government, each drawing funds for their operation from the federation account established by the constitution. The constitution mandates a democratically elected local government system, with no provision for any other governance system at the local level.”

The summons further asserts, “Despite the clear constitutional provisions, governors have failed to implement a democratically elected local government system, even in the absence of a state of emergency that would justify suspending democratic institutions. This failure constitutes a deliberate subversion of the 1999 Constitution, which both the governors and the president have sworn to uphold.”

The Federal Government contends that continued disbursement of funds from the federation account to Governors for non-existent democratically elected local governments undermines the Constitution’s sanctity. They have asked the Supreme Court to invoke Sections 1, 4, 5, 7, and 14 of the Constitution to declare that Governors and state houses of assembly are obligated to ensure democratically elected systems at the local government level.