Today, Thursday, July 11, 2024, the highest court in Nigeria, the Supreme Court, ruled that state governors’ possession of money intended for local government administrations is illegal, hence, autonomy be granted to the local governments.
Recall that the federal government filed a lawsuit, represented by Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Attorney General of the Federation, to give all 774 local governments in the nation complete autonomy and direct funding.
In its ruling, a panel of seven judges unanimously maintained the federal government’s lawsuit to increase local governments’ autonomy across the nation.
The federal, state, and local governments comprise the three branches of government, according to the ruling of the Supreme Court.
The primary ruling of the court was delivered by panellist Justice Emmanuel Agim, who concluded that local governments nationwide should begin receiving their allotments straight from the Accountant-General of the Federation on Thursday.
The Supreme Court’s new arrangement gives the Accountant-General of the Federation the authority to distribute federal funds to local governments every month without consulting state governments.
Local government in Nigeria represents the third tier of government, the level nearest to the people.
However, in the majority of states, local governments have been all but crippled for more than 20 years due to the governors’ seizure of their federal appropriations and the piecemeal distribution of money that barely keeps them afloat.
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