LG Autonomy: Tinubu Moves To Reduce Powers Of Govs

:Supreme Court Reserves judgement on suit B/W FG, 36 Govs.

Tinubu led administration appears to be hellbent on its resolve to reduce the financial powers of the Governors as Supreme Court has reserved Judgement on the suit between the Federal Government and Thirty Six States Governors.
The Judgement which legal Experts envisaged that would go in favor of the Federal Government would automatically put an end to influence of the Governors on the administration of the Local Governments.
This is even as Supreme Court rejected application by some Speakers of the House of Assemblies to be joined as parties in the suit
A seven-man panel of the court, led by Justice Garba Lawal, on Thursday, okayed the matter for judgement. This was after governors of the 36 states of the Federation, through their respective attorney-generals, adopted their briefs of argument.

The states, in separate preliminary objections they filed before the apex court, sought the dismissal of the suit with substantial cost.

They contended that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who initiated the action on behalf of the Government, lacked the locus standi (legal right) to do so.

The defendants further alleged that the AGF breached their right to a fair hearing when he failed to serve them with a copy of a further affidavit he filed in support of the suit.

Besides, some of the states argued that they already have democratically elected local government officials in place. They insisted that the suit by FG amounted to an abuse of the judicial process.
judgement day
After listening to all the parties, the Justice Lawal-led panel said it would communicate the judgement date to them.

It would be recalled that the Federal Government had in suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, prayed the Supreme Court to okay full autonomy for all the local governments, LGs, in the country as the third tier of government.

It prayed the court to issue an order, prohibiting state governors from embarking on unilateral, arbitrary, and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders.

As well as 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.

Besides, FG prayed the Supreme Court for an order stopping governors from further constituting caretaker committees to run the affairs of local governments as against the constitutionally-recognized and guaranteed democratic system.

It equally 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.

FG argued that Nigeria, as a federation, was a creation of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, with the President, as Head of the Federal Executive Arm, swearing on oath to uphold and give effects to provisions of the Constitution.