The Nigerian government has filed a lawsuit against all 36 state governors at the Supreme Court to protect the autonomy of local governments across the nation.
The suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024, was filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi on behalf of the federal government.
The federal government is praying the Apex Court for an order prohibiting state governors from unilateral, arbitrary, and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected leaders for local governments.
It also prayed to the Supreme Court for an order permitting the funds standing in the credits of local governments to be directly channeled to them from the federation account in line with the provisions of the Constitution as against the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
It wanted an order stopping governors from constituting caretaker committees to run the affairs of local governments as against the constitutionally recognised and guaranteed democratic system.
Also, the federal government wants an order of injunction restraining the governors, their agents, and privies from receiving, spending, or tampering with funds released from the Federation Account for the benefit of local governments when no democratically elected local government system is put in place in the states.
The FG also requested the Supreme Court to authorise the direct transfer of funds allocated to local governments from the federation account, by the Constitution.
It also applied for an order of injunction restraining the governors, their agents and privies from receiving, spending, or tampering with funds released from the Federation Account for the benefit of local governments when no democratically elected local government system is put in place in the states.
The Governors were sued through their respective State Attorneys General.
The suit is predicated on 27 grounds among which are that the Nigeria Federation is a creation of the 1999 Constitution with the President as Head of the Federal Executive arm of the Federation and has sworn to uphold and give effects to the provisions of the Constitution.
-That the failure of the governors to put a democratically elected local government system in place, is a deliberate subversion of the 1999 Constitution which they and the President have sworn to uphold.
–That the governors represent the component states of the Federation with Executive Governors who have also sworn to uphold the Constitution and at all times, give effects to the Constitution and that the Constitution, being the supreme law, has binding force all over the Federation of Nigeria.
–That the Constitution of Nigeria recognizes federal, state and local governments as three tiers of government and that the three recognized tiers of government draw funds for their operation and functioning from the Federation Account created by the Constitution.
–That by the provisions of the Constitution, there must be a democratically elected local government system and that the Constitution has not made provisions for any other systems of governance at the local government level other than a democratically elected local government system.
–That in the face of the clear provisions of the Constitution, the governors have failed and refused to put in place a democratically elected local government system even where no state of emergency has been declared to warrant the suspension of democratic institutions in the state.
Fagbemi also prayed for invocation of sections 1, 4, 5, 7 and 14 of the Constitution to declare that dissolution of democratically elected local government Councils by the Governors or anyone using the State powers derivable from laws enacted by the State Houses of Assembly or any Executive Order is unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void.
The Supreme Court fixed Thursday, May 30, 2024, for a hearing of the suit.
Dominica Nwabufo
