Breaking: Battle For Council Autonomy Intensifies At Supreme-Court (Details)

Breaking: Battle For Council Autonomy Intensifies At Supreme-Court (Details)

The Supreme Court has mandated that the 36 state governors present their defense within seven days regarding the lawsuit filed against them by the Federal Government over the management of local council funds. This directive was issued by a seven-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba.

The Federal Government, represented by Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had sought an expedited timeline for the defendants to submit their responses due to the urgent nature of the case. Although the Chairman of the Body of Attorneys-General of the States, Ben Odoh (Attorney-General of Ebonyi State), requested a 15-day period, the court settled on seven days.

Justice Garba emphasized the national importance and urgency of the matter in his ruling, which justified the shorter timeframe for the defendants. The Federal Government has been instructed to file its reply within two days after receiving the defendants’ responses.

The court adjourned the hearing to June 13 and instructed that fresh hearing notices be served to the attorneys-general of the absent states: Borno, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, and Sokoto.

In the suit (SC/CV/343/2024) filed by the AGF, the Federal Government accuses the governors of mismanaging local governments, including running them with appointed administrators instead of elected officials. The government seeks several orders from the Supreme Court:

1. Prohibit governors from arbitrarily dissolving elected local government leaders.
2. Ensure local government funds are directly channeled to them from the Federation Account.
3. Stop governors from using caretaker committees to manage local governments.
4. Restrain governors and their agents from handling local government funds when no elected local government system is in place.

The lawsuit underscores that the Constitution of Nigeria mandates a democratically elected local government system and that governors’ failure to comply undermines the Constitution. The Federal Government argues that this failure is a deliberate subversion of constitutional provisions and undermines the sanctity of the 1999 Constitution.

The Federal Government’s case rests on the principle that all tiers of government, including local councils, must be democratically elected as per constitutional requirements, and that funds should not be disbursed to non-democratic entities. The Supreme Court’s decision to expedite the case highlights the critical nature of this constitutional issue.