Federal Government Sues State Governors Over Local Government Autonomy
Abuja, Nigeria – The Federal Government has initiated a lawsuit against the governors of Nigeria’s 36 states at the Supreme Court, citing alleged misconduct in the administration of Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, filed the suit, which calls for full autonomy for all LGAs in the country. The Federal Government is seeking an order to prohibit state governors from unilaterally dissolving democratically elected local government leaders, a practice deemed arbitrary and unlawful.
The 36 state governors have been named in the suit through their respective Attorneys General. The Federal Government is also requesting the court to mandate that funds allocated to local governments be directly channeled to them from the federation account, in accordance with constitutional provisions, rather than through the joint accounts managed by governors.
Additionally, the suit seeks an order to prevent governors from establishing caretaker committees to oversee local governments, arguing that this contravenes the constitutionally guaranteed democratic system. An injunction is also being sought to restrain governors and their agents from accessing or using funds designated for local governments if no democratically elected local government system is in place.
The Federal Government’s suit outlines 27 grounds, arguing that Nigeria’s federal structure, established by the 1999 Constitution, mandates a democratically elected local government system. The constitution recognizes federal, state, and local governments as three distinct tiers, each drawing funds from the federation account.
The Federal Government contends that the governors’ failure to implement a democratically elected local government system constitutes a deliberate subversion of the constitution, undermining its integrity. Despite efforts to compel compliance, governors have continued to bypass democratic processes at the local government level.
The suit underscores that in the absence of a democratically elected local government system, the Federal Government is not constitutionally obligated to disburse funds from the federation account to the states for local government purposes.
The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for May 30.
