IN a landmark judgment on thursday, the Supreme Court endorsed full autonomy for the 774 local governments in the country, putting an end to the abuse of their affairs by some State Governors.
The apex court ordered that funds from the Federation Account in the credit of the councils must be paid directly to their respective bank accounts.
In the same vein, the court barred the Governors, their and privies from directly or indirectly receiving, tampering or withhold funds meant for the local governments henceforth.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, the Federation Account was specifically ordered to ensure that henceforth all monies including shares from taxes and other sources are channelled directly into the purses of councils with democratically elected officials in place.
The Governors were also barred from henceforth dissolving democratically elected officials for Local Governments and that doing so would amount to a breach of the 1999 Constitution.
In the unanimous judgment of the seven-man panel of Justices, the Supreme Court agreed with the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recognized Local Governments as the third tier of government.
The Justices also agreed with him that some State Governors have in the past two decades been using Nigeria’s Constitution to perpetrate unconstitutional acts.
The argument of Fagbemi that the Constitution permitted Governors to receive money on behalf of Local Governments but did not permit them to spend such money on their behalf was upheld.
Among others, the apex court ordered the Federation Account to withhold funds of Local Governments where democratically elected officials are not in place.
It also barred the Governors, their agents and privies from embarking on dissolution of democratically elected officials at the Local Governments level.
According to the Justices, the Constitution did not make Local Governments appendages of the State and that no tier of government should be subordinate to another.
Justice Agim held that States are not subordinate to the federal just as Local Governments should not subservient to the States.
In all, all the request of the Federal Government were granted in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and as canvassed by the Justice Minister.
