FG drags govs to court over misconduct in LG affairs, seeks autonomy

The Federal Government has dragged the 36 state governors to the Supreme Court over misconduct in the affairs of the Local Government Areas in the country.

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), on behalf of the federal government, instituted the court action against the governors to seek full autonomy for local governments as third tiers of government in the country.

Fagbemi said the suit was a deliberate attempt at removing local governments from alleged gross abuse by state governors.

In the suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, the AGF is praying the Supreme Court for an order prohibiting state governors from unilateral, arbitrary, and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders for local governments.

The governors were sued through their respective State Attorneys General.

The suit is predicated on 27 grounds among which are that Nigeria 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.

The originating summons signed by Fagbemi has been fixed for May 30, 2024, for hearing.

He prayed the court for an order permitting the funds standing in the credits of local governments to be directly channelled to them from the federation account in line with the provisions of the constitution as against the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by governors.

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The AGF also sought an order stopping governors from constituting caretaker committees to run the affairs of local governments as against the constitutionally recognised and guaranteed democratic system.

The minister 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.

Fagbemi asked the apex court to invoke sections 1, 4, 5, 7, and 14 of the constitution to declare that the state governors and State Houses of Assembly are under obligation to ensure a democratic system at the third tier of government in Nigeria and to also invoke the same sections to hold that the governors cannot lawfully dissolve democratically elected local government councils.

A 13-paragraph affidavit in support of the originating summons deposed to by one Kelechi Ohaeri from the Federal Ministry of Justice averred that the AGF took out the suit against the governors under the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court on behalf of the federal government.

The deponent asserted that the local government system recognised by the constitution is a democratically elected local government council and that the amount due to local government councils from the federation account is to be paid to the local government system recognised by the constitution.

That the governors represent the component states of the Federation with Executive Governors who have also sworn to uphold the Constitution and to, 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.

Other prayers include that the constitution of Nigeria recognises federal, states 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.

The Star