…Ozekhome hails judgement, says it’s victory for Nigeria’s democracy
“It’s a win for Nigeria -Atiku
.It ‘ll enhance fiscal responsibility – Don
Stakeholders must uphold judgement –CNPP
.There ‘ll be no effect on Lagos Govt -APC Chairman
. ALGON lauds court, AGF
By Clement Adeyi
Relief yesterday came the way of the 774 local government councils in the country as the Supreme Court of Nigeria has granted them full autonomy as well as freedom from the undue influence of the 36 state governors.
The apex court also barred governors from receiving their statutory allocations.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim who led the seven-man panel, the apex court also stopped the governors from tampering with or withholding funds meant for the local governments areas.
It also declared that the powers of government were portioned into three arms of government: The federal, state and local government.
By virtue of the judgment, the state executives will no longer have power to dissolve democratically elected officials of the local government, having pronounced that it is a breach of the 1999 Constitution.
The court further declared that a state government has no power to elect a caretaker committee and that a local government council is only recognizable with a democratically elected government.
“A democratically elected local government is sacrosanct and non-negotiable,” it said.
The court also held that the use of a caretaker committee amounted to the state government taking control of the local government and a violation of the 1999 Constitution.
The Apex Court further held that the local government areas should be governed by democratically elected government but “the states, by the abuse of their powers, have worked against this law.”
The court declared that the 36 state governors could not use their veto powers to dissolve a democratically elected local government council and replace it with a caretaker committee.
“Such Act is unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void,” it said.
It added that the practice by state governments receiving and retaining local government funds for themselves had persisted for too long and a clear violation of Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
It also held that the 1999 Constitution, as amended, states that any money leaving the federation’s accounts must be distributed to the three tiers of government.
The court stated that it was the local government councils that had the right to receive and manage funds meant for them.
Justice Agim declared: “I hold that the states’ retention of the local government funds is unconstitutional.”
“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 court further held: “A declaration that the local government council funds must be paid to only democratically elected local government council. Anything other than this will be taken as a gross misconduct.”
The Supreme Court had earlier dismissed the preliminary objection of all the 36 state governors, describing it as frivolous.
The apex court also held that as the Chief Law officer of the federation, the Attorney-General of the Federation had the right to sue in public interest to protect and enforce public laws.
The court added that he had every right to file the suit as the subject matter of the suit is not speculative.
The court further held that the AGF had the right to protect the Constitution and to help any government features from going extinct.
Justice Agim declared: “I hold that the plaintiff’s request is hereby approved and all the reliefs granted.”
The AGF, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who is the plaintiff in the suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, on behalf of the Federal Government, had dragged the 36 state governors in the country to court for hijacking local government autonomy.
The AGF sued the state governments through their respective state attorneys general.
He accused the governors of gross misconduct and abuse of power.
The AGF, in the suit predicted on 27 grounds, urged the Apex Court to issue an order, prohibiting state governors from unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders for local governments.
The FG further contended that Nigeria, as a Federation, was a creation of the 1999 Constitution with the president as the head of the Executive arm of the government and had sworn to uphold and give effects to the provisions of the Constitution.
Meanwhile, all the 36 state governors opposed the suit. They urged the apex court to strike it out for being grossly incompetent.
They claimed that the AGF lacked the locus standi to institute the suit for the local governments.
Stakeholders, including lawyers, economist, government officials, analysts reacted to the landmark judgement.
Constitutional lawyer, Prof Mike Ozekhome (SAN), has described the ruling as salutary and in tandem with the expectations of the drafters of the 1999 Constitution saying, that it came at the right time.
Chief Ozekhome said that the era of making local government areas subservient to the state governors was over in Nigeria.
“The Supreme Court judgement today, July 11, 2024, directing the Federal Government to pay allocations due to local government areas directly to their account thereby abolishing the old practices of State-Local Government Joint Account is timely and courageous,” he said.
“What the judgement has done is more like interpreting Section 162 of the Constitution, which provides for a joint state local government account in which case money is normally paid to state governors’ accounts and then for them to disburse to the local governments for them to share.
“But what has been happening is that, as I noted in 2020, the state governors have been behaving like ”bandits, waylaying local governments’ funds along the way, thus impoverishing them, leaving them with nothing to work with, just a little for salary. Also, there is nothing to actually work for the people whom they represent.”
“I agree totally with the judgement of the supreme court to grant full financial autonomy so that money is released and paid directly to the 774 local government councils to develop their places because the LGAs are grassroots and nearest to the people.
“Rather than allow overbearing state governors throw their weight around and muzzle the local governments and seize their purses, they will now allow LGs breathe some air of freedom.
“So, I see this judgment as epochal, having far-reaching effects. This is because we have been seeing cases where in spite of the provisions of Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution that gives autonomy to local government areas, states normally go ahead and dissolve local government areas and appoint caretaker committees for them. This is whimsical and capricious.
“The judgement is salutary, timely and regenerative. It should be upheld by all governments and people in Nigeria for better democratic dividends. I see this as victory for our wobbling democracy.
“This case is one big plus for tested court room gladiator, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Attorney General of the Federation, who initiated the case at the apex court, invoking its original jurisdiction. Surely, to jaw-jaw is better than to war-war,” Ozekhome stressed.
An economist at the University of Abuja, Professor Peter Siyan, said the judgement would enhance fiscal responsibility at the LGAs.
“The fund should be managed by elected and not selected officials,” he said.
“The economic implications of such judgment are enormous. It will enhance fiscal autonomy for LGAs with increased efficiency and responsiveness,” he added.
“It will also empower the LGAs because of their direct access funds. Infact, the officials can plan and execute projects that can meet direct needs of the people without delay.
“This will reduce drastic leakages, diversion and siphoning of public funds, especially if allocations are published.
“The judgement will not only stimulate growth but also create more jobs for the youth and our teaming unemployed involved in illegal activities.
“Now, the capacity of the LG staff who have been redundant would be enhanced administratively.
“I think this singular pronouncement will strengthen the principles of federalism. LGs will now be constitutionally guaranteed allocations directly. This will promote decentralization or decentralized governance.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling will have a far-reaching positive economic implications such as improved service delivery, development, autonomy, increased accountability and reduced corruption,” Siyan said.
Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, also praised the court’s decision, describing it as “a win for Nigerians.”
“The verdict of the court is in tandem with the core functions of the Supreme Court as an arbitration court between and among governments,” he added.
The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oyo State, Mr Biodun Aikomo, said the state would still study the judgment.
“The Supreme Court has held that the states are trustees of the funds and that notwithstanding the provision of Section 1, 6, 2 and 5. We will see how the implementation would play out in the coming months,” he said.
“The Supreme Court has just ruled. They are the final court and the policy court for the country. They have also interpreted the provisions of the constitution. We are going to study the judgment and hopefully, we believe that there is an implementation plan for an end to end development at the grassroots.”
In a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday, the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) quoted the Board of Trustees Secretary, Chief Chukwudi Ezinwa as describing the judgment as a “birth of a new democracy in Nigeria.”
He, however, hailed the judgment, saying that it would put an end to Transition Committees, Caretaker Committees or sole administrators.
“Now, the state Assemblies have no other option than to pass the LGA autonomy bill once it gets to them.
“To us at ALGON, we thank God and commend the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), for taking the bull by the horn and his political will power to pursue the case to the Supreme Court.
“A lot of attorneys -general had come and gone but lacked courage to go ahead to make sure that local government was salvaged from the hands of governors.
“We equally thank President Bola Tinubu for proving to Nigerians that he is a president with courage and that his Renewed Hope Agenda was for real as well as showing that he wants to correct all the wrongs,” he said.
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) said the judgement marked a new dawn for local government autonomy and a significant blow to the impunity and recklessness of state governors in the last two decades.
Signed by Comrade James Ezema, Deputy National Publicity Secretary, the statement added: “We urge all stakeholders to respect and implement this judgment and we demand that governors who violate this ruling be prosecuted after leaving office. It is time to hold our leaders accountable for their actions and ensure that the rule of law is upheld.
The CNPP called on the Federal Government to ensure immediate release of funds due to the LGAs directly to their respective accounts and to monitor their utilization to prevent further abuse.
“We also urge civil society organizations and the media to join us in holding governors accountable for their actions.”
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Lagos State Chapter, Cornelius Ojelabi, noted that it would not have any effect on the state government.
“There shall be no implication or effect as far as Lagos State is concerned because the governor has not been touching the LGAs’ funds. They are getting their money intact,” Ojelabi said.
“The state government is even adding to what they are getting. As far as Lagos State is concerned, there shall be no sort of any implications,” he stressed.
While hailing the judgement, Ojelabi said: ” It is a welcome development. It is deepening our democracy. It is a wake up call to the local government areas to brace up to their responsibilities and make sure that the resources allocated to them are used for the development of their areas.
“If we develop our local community, we would be better off and I think we will have a very rapid development. So, for me, the judgement is a welcome development,” he stated.
