The federal government has initiated a lawsuit against the thirty-six state governors before the Supreme Court to enforce the autonomy of the nation's local governments. The suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024, was filed on May 20 by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), on behalf of the federal government.
In the suit, the federal government is seeking several orders from the Supreme Court:
1.Prohibition of Unlawful Dissolution: An order prohibiting state governors from the unilateral, arbitrary, and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders.
2. Direct Funding: An order for local government funds to be directly channelled to them from the federation account in line with the provisions of the Constitution, as opposed to the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
3. Abolition of Caretaker Committees: An order stopping governors from constituting caretaker committees to run the affairs of local governments, emphasizing the constitutionally recognized and guaranteed democratic system.
4. Injunction Against Fund Tampering: An order of injunction restraining governors, their agents, and privies from receiving, spending, or tampering with funds released from the Federation Account meant for local governments when no democratically elected local government system is in place in the states.
This legal action underscores the federal government's effort to ensure that local governments operate with full autonomy and adhere to the constitutional provisions governing their administration and funding.
