The Supreme Court of Nigeria has reserved its judgment in a suit filed by the Federal Government (FG) seeking full autonomy for the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the country.
The decision was made by a seven-member panel of the court, led by Justice Garba Lawal, after the governors of the 36 states, represented by their respective Attorney-Generals, presented their arguments.
The suit, initiated by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, on behalf of the FG, has faced opposition from the states.
The defendants argued that the AGF lacks the legal right (locus standi) to initiate the action and accused him of breaching their right to a fair hearing by not serving them with a copy of a further affidavit he filed in support of the suit.
Some states also contended that the suit is an abuse of the judicial process, as they already have democratically elected LG officials in place. They have urged the court to dismiss the suit with substantial cost.
The FG's suit seeks to prohibit state governors from arbitrarily dissolving democratically elected local government leaders and to allow funds to be directly channeled to LGAs from the Federation Account, in line with the Constitution, rather than through joint accounts allegedly created by governors.
The Supreme Court panel, led by Justice Lawal, will communicate the judgment date to the parties involved. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for the autonomy and financial independence of local governments in Nigeria.
