The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved judgment in a suit filed by the Federal Government against the 36 state governors, seeking to grant full autonomy to local governments.
According to The PUNCH, the Federal Government, represented by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), wants the court to stop state governors from appointing caretaker committees to run local governments and to order that funds due to local governments be paid directly to them instead of through state governments.
The seven-man panel led by Justice Garba Lawal announced that judgment would be communicated to parties in the matter when ready.
The suit is seeking full autonomy for the 774 local governments in the country.
In the suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024, the Federal Government wants the apex court to enforce the autonomy of the local government by, among other things, stopping state governors from appointing caretaker committees to administer local governments in their states.
The Federal Government wants the Supreme Court to rule that any local government manned by a caretaker committee instead of an elected local government chairman and councillors should have their funds from the Federation Account withheld.
It also wants the court to rule that funds due to local governments from the Federation Account should be paid directly to them instead of through the state government to guarantee their autonomy.
The seven-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Garba Lawal, announced that parties in the matter would be communicated when the judgment was ready after parties in the suit adopted their processes.
All 36 states in their response opposed the FG’s suit and appealed to the court to throw out the suit.
AGF on his part asked the apex court to grant all the reliefs sought by the federal government in the suit.
The AGF said, “I adopt and rely on these processes. I urge my lords to overrule the various objections and grant the originating summons.”
While some states claimed that they were denied a fair hearing and weren’t served, the AGF clarified that he sent copies of the affidavits to the defendants via WhatsApp and emails.
He added that the court bailiff also served the defendants in their various state liaison offices in Abuja.
The Federal Government in the suit, is urging 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.”
In the suit predicted on 27 grounds, the Federal Government accused the state governors of gross misconduct and abuse of power.
The FG, in the originating summons, prayed the Supreme Court to make an order expressly stating that funds standing to the credit of local governments from the Federation Account should be paid directly to the local governments rather than through the state governments.
