BREAKING: Supreme Court Grants Financial Autonomy To Local Governments

BREAKING: Supreme Court Grants Financial Autonomy To Local Governments

The Supreme Court has ruled that governors of the 36 states in Nigeria are prohibited from holding onto or using funds designated for the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the country.

The court deemed it both illegal and unconstitutional for governors to retain such funds, stating that this practice, ongoing for more than two decades, violates Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution.

Justice Emmanuel Agim delivered the lead judgement, emphasizing that no state House of Assembly has the authority to enact laws that interfere with LGA funds.

The court stressed that LGAs should be governed by democratically elected officials and ordered that funds meant for them must be disbursed directly from the federation account.

“Demands of justice require a progressive interpretation of the law. It is the position of this court that the federation can pay LGA allocations to the LGAs directly or pay them through the states.

“In this case, since paying them through states has not worked, justice of this case demands that LGA allocations from the federation account should henceforth be paid directly to the LGAs,” the apex court held.

Additionally, the Supreme Court declared the appointment of caretaker committees by governors to manage LGAs unconstitutional, emphasizing the necessity of democratic governance at the local government level.

This ruling came in response to a suit filed by the Federal Government aimed at ensuring financial autonomy for LGAs.

Despite preliminary objections from state governors challenging the suit’s validity, the court dismissed these objections.