Senator Bassey Otu
The Federal Government has taken the 36 state governors to the Supreme Court over allegations of malfeasance in local government matters, while also seeking full autonomy for the country’s third tier of government.
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), on behalf of the federal government, filed the court suit against the governors, seeking full autonomy for local governments as the country’s third tier of government.
The AGF is requesting an injunction preventing state governors from unilaterally, capricious, and unlawfully dissolving democratically elected local government leaders in the case SC/CV/343/2024 before the Supreme Court.
In the originating summons, which he personally signed, the Chief Law Officer of the Federation also requests that the Supreme Court issue an order allowing funds standing in the credits of local governments to be directly channelled to them from the Federation Account in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution as opposed to the alleged illegal joint accounts created by governors.
The petitioner requests that the Supreme Court prohibit governors from forming caretaker committees to manage local governments, as this violates the constitutionally protected democratic system.
Furthermore, the federal government sought an injunction prohibiting governors, their agents, and privies from receiving, spending, or tampering with funds released from the Federation Account for the benefit of local governments in states without a democratically elected local government system.
In the suit, the Governors were sued through their respective State Attorneys General on 27 grounds, including that the Nigeria Federation is a creation of the 1999 Constitution, with the President as Head of the Federal Executive arm of the Federation who has sworn to uphold and carry out the provisions of the Constitution.
That the governors represent the Federation’s constituent states, with Executive Governors who have also pledged to preserve and carry out the Constitution at all times, and that the Constitution, as the ultimate law, has binding force across Nigeria.
“That the Nigerian Constitution recognises federal, state, and local governments as three tiers of government, and that the three recognised tiers of government take funds from the Constitution-created Federation Account to operate and function.
The Constitution requires a democratically elected local government system, and the Constitution makes no provision for any other types of governance at the local government level.
“That, despite the explicit provisions of the Constitution, the governors have failed and refused to implement a democratically elected local government system, even when no state of emergency has been declared to justify the suspension of democratic institutions in the state.
“The governors’ failure to implement a democratically elected local government system is a deliberate subversion of the 1999 Constitution, which they and the President have promised to respect.
That all efforts to persuade governors to follow the dictates of the 1999 Constitution in terms of establishing a democratically elected local government system have yielded no results, and that continuing to disburse funds from the Federation Account to governors for non-existent democratically elected local governments undermines the sanctity of the 1999 Constitution.
That, in the face of violations of the 1999 Constitution, the federal government is not required by Section 162 of the Constitution to pay any state money standing to the credit of local governments when no democratically elected local government exists.
The AGF therefore 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, as well as to hold that governors cannot lawfully dissolve democratically elected local government councils.
The petitioner requests that Sections 1, 4, 5, 7, and 14 of the Constitution be invoked to declare that dissolving democratically elected local government councils by Governors or anyone using State powers derived from laws enacted by the State Houses of Assembly or any Executive Order is illegal, unconstitutional, and null and void.
A 13-paragraph affidavit in support of the originating summons testified to by Kelechi Ohaeri of the Federal Ministry of Justice said that the AGF filed the suit against the Governors on behalf of the Federal Government under the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction.
The deponent claimed that the local government system recognised by the Constitution is a democratically elected local government council, and that any funds owed to local government councils from the Federation Account must be paid to the local government system recognised by the Constitution.
The deponent sought to tender during the hearing, Daily Post online publication of January 29, 2024, titled “LG Administration; 15 Govs under scrutiny over Constitutional breach”, Vanguard online special report of September 12, 2023, Guardian editorial of January 23, 2024, Premium Times online publication of December 1, 2023, Vanguard online publication of December 1, 2023, and Arise online news of December 2, 2023 to justify the national importance public interest.
The Supreme Court has set Thursday, May 30 for the hearing of the lawsuit.