The Federal Government has taken legal action against the Governors of all 36 States at the Supreme Court for their purported misconduct in the administration of Local Government Areas (LGAs). Represented by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the federal government filed a Lawsuit marked SC/CV/343/2024 in pursuit of granting complete autonomy to all LGAs across the nation, recognizing them as the independent third tier of government. The request was made for the court to take action and prevent state governors from unlawfully removing democratically elected local government (LG) leaders without following proper procedures.
An order is being requested to allow funds in the credits of LG to be sent directly to them from the Federation Account, in accordance with the Constitution, instead of being held in joint accounts by governors, as alleged. Furthermore, the federal government has appealed to the supreme court to issue a directive preventing governors from appointing Caretaker Committees to manage LG operations, which goes against the democratic system recognized and protected by the Constitution.
27 claims were presented in the lawsuit against governors.
Furthermore, it requests a court order to prohibit governors, their representatives, and associated individuals from using or interfering with funds allocated from the Federation Account intended for the improvement of local governments in the absence of a democratically elected local government system in place. Lawsuits were filed against all 36 Governors through their respective Attorneys General. The lawsuit presented 27 claims advocating that Nigeria was formed as a federation under the 1999 Constitution, with the President pledging to uphold and enforce the constitution as Head of the Federal Executive Arm.
Under the law, the governors act as representatives of the individual states within the Federation, and the Executive Governors have taken an oath to uphold and enforce it. According to FG, the three levels of government in Nigeria – federal, state, and local – receive funding from the Federation Account as mandated for their day-to-day operations. And as outlined by the Constitution, the only form of governance allowed at the LG level is a democratically elected system. No other systems are permitted under the LG governance.
Disregard for the Constitution is seen as a violation.
It was alleged that despite the Constitution clearly stating the need for a democratically elected LG system, governors have neglected to establish one even in the absence of a declared State of Emergency that would justify it. This deliberate disregard for the regulations is seen as a direct contradiction to the oath taken by both governors and the President to support and abide by the 1999 Constitution. Attempts to ensure governors adhere to the guidelines regarding establishing a democratically elected local government system was said to have been unsuccessful. Thus, continuing to allocate funds from the Federation Account to governors for non-existent democratically elected local governments administration would be a violation of it’s integrity.
Given the violation of the 1999 Constitution, the federal government is not required to allocate local government’s fund to the State government where there are no democratically elected LG officials in office. Therefore, the federal government seeks the Supreme Court to use section 1, 4, 5, 7 and 14 of the Constitution to enforce the responsibility of State Governors and State Houses of Assembly in maintaining democratic practices at the local government level in Nigeria. Additionally, it seeks an order to prevent governors from dissolving democratically elected LG councils through the same sections.
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Kelechi Ohaeri, from the Federal Ministry of Justice, submitted a 13-paragraph affidavit disclosing that the AGF had initiated legal proceedings on behalf of the FG in the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The deponent stated that the Constitution acknowledges a local government system that consists of democratically elected councils. Furthermore, they mentioned that any funds owed to LG councils from the Federation Account should be directed to the recognized local government system outlined in the Constitution.