Supreme Court Prohibits Governors from Controlling Local Government Funds

The Supreme Court has issued a ruling in the case brought by the Federal Government against the 36 state governors concerning local government autonomy.

In this case, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), sought to secure full autonomy and direct fund allocation for the 774 local governments across the country.

The Federal Government, basing its case on 27 grounds, accused the state governors of gross misconduct and abuse of power.

The Federal Government requested the Supreme Court to order that funds allocated to local governments from the Federation Account be paid directly to the local governments, bypassing the state governments.

Additionally, the government sought an injunction to prevent the governors, their agents, and associates from receiving, spending, or interfering with funds released from the Federation Account intended for local governments, especially in the absence of democratically elected local government systems in the states.

In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional for governors to withhold funds meant for Local Government (LG) administrations.

Justice Agim noted that the state governments' refusal to grant financial autonomy to local governments had persisted for over two decades.

He stated that local governments had stopped receiving the funds intended for them, which were instead controlled by the state governors.

Emphasizing that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their own funds, he dismissed the preliminary objections raised by the defendants (state governors).

Justice Agim affirmed that the Attorney General of the Federation has the right to file the suit and uphold the constitution.

As a result, the Supreme Court directed that allocations from the Federation Account to Local Governments should be paid directly to them from now on.

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