The Federal Government has filed a lawsuit against the Governors of the 36 States of the Federation at the Supreme Court over alleged misconduct in the administration of Local Government Areas, LGAs.
In the suit marked: SC/CV/343/2024, which was filed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the government is demanding full autonomy for all LGAs in the country as the third tier of government.
It specifically urged the apex court to issue an order deterring state governors from embarking on unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leadership.
It also seeks 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.
The FG equally 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 benefits of local governments when no democratically elected local government system is put in place in the states.
Governors of the 36 States were sued through their respective Attorneys General.
In the 27 grounds it listed in support of the suit, the Federal Government 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 effect to provisions of the Constitution.
It told the apex court: “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 effect to the Constitution and that the Constitution, being the supreme law, has binding force all over the Federation of Nigeria.
“That the Constitution of Nigeria recognizes 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.”
Consequently, the government asked the Supreme 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.
It also prayed for the invocation of sections 1, 4, 5, 7 and 14 of the Constitution to declare that dissolution of democratically elected local government Councils by the Governors or anyone using the state powers derivable from laws enacted by the State Houses of Assembly or any Executive Order, is unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void.
In a 13-paragraph affidavit that was deposed to by one Kelechi Ohaeri from the Federal Ministry of Justice, the AGF said he filed the suit under the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, on behalf of the FG.
The deponent averred that the local government system recognized by the Constitution is a democratically elected local government councils, adding that the amount due to local government Councils from the Federation Account is to be paid to local government system recognized by the constitution.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has fixed May 30 to hear the suit.
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