The Supreme Court on Thursday, reserved judgment in the suit filed by the Federal Government against the 36 State Governors seeking full autonomy for the 774 local governments in the country.
A seven member panel of Justices of the apex court presided by Justice Garba Lawal reserved judgement in the suit to a date that would be communicated to parties.
Lawyers representing the parties in dispute adopted their respective brief of arguments in response to the originating summons marked SC/CV/343/2024 filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) on behalf of the federal government .
Adopting his processes, including the originating summons, further and better affidavit and composite address in response to the various objections by the defendants, the AGF pleaded with the Supreme Court to grant all the reliefs sought by the federal government in the suit.
However and disappointingly the 36 state governors through their respective State Attorneys General and Commissioner for Justice vehemently opposed the suit despite the overwhelming populace craving for local autonomy. The governors through their lawyers separately asked the apex court to dismiss the suit.
While some states asked for the dismissal of the suit of the plaintiff with substantive cost, others did not ask for cost in their various notices of preliminary objection and counter affidavits filed against the plaintiff’s originating summons.
The AGF, on behalf of the federal government instituted the court action against the governors primarily seeking full autonomy for local governments as third tiers of government in the country.
The AGF is praying the apex court for an order prohibiting state governors from unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders.
The Chief Law Officer of the Federation, in the originating summons he personally signed, is also praying the Supreme Court 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.
He also wants the Apex Court to make an order stopping governors from constituting caretaker committees to run the affairs of local governments as against the Constitutionally recognized and guaranteed democratic system.
The FG further 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.
The Governors were sued through their respective State Attorneys General in
the suit predicted on 27 grounds, among which are 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.
“That, by the provisions of the Constitution, there must be a democratically elected local government system and that the Constitution has not made provisions for any other systems of governance at the local government level other than democratically elected local government system.
“That, in the face of the clear provisions of the Constitution, the governors have failed and refused to put in place a democratically elected local government system even where no state of emergency has been declared to warrant the suspension of democratic institutions in the state.
“That, the failure of the governors to put democratically elected local government system in place, is a deliberate subversion of the 1999 Constitution which they and the President have sworn to uphold.
“That, all efforts to make the governors comply with the dictates of the 1999 Constitution in terms of putting in place, a democratically elected local government system, has not yielded any result and that to continue to disburse funds from the Federation Account to governors for non existing democratically elected local government is to undermine the sanctity of the 1999 Constitution”.
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 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.
He is also praying for 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.