The Federal Government has filed a lawsuit against the governors of the 36 states at the Supreme Court, alleging misconduct in the administration of Local Government Areas.
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, initiated the suit, seeking full autonomy for all local government areas in the country.
The Federal Government is requesting the court to prohibit state governors from unilaterally, arbitrarily, and unlawfully dissolving democratically elected local government leaders.
The lawsuit names the governors of the 36 states, who are being represented through their respective Attorneys General.
The suit also seeks an order allowing funds allocated to local governments to be directly transferred to them from the federation account, in accordance with the constitutional provisions, rather than through the allegedly unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
Additionally, the Federal Government has requested the Supreme Court to prohibit governors from further appointing caretaker committees to manage local governments, insisting on the constitutionally recognized and guaranteed democratic system.
The government has also applied for an injunction to restrain governors, their agents, and associates from receiving, spending, or interfering with funds from the federation account meant for local governments when there is no democratically elected local government system in place within the states.
In the 27 grounds listed in support of the suit, the Federal Government argued that Nigeria, as a federation, was established by the 1999 Constitution (as amended), with the president as the head of the federal executive arm, sworn to uphold and enforce the provisions of the constitution.
The Federal Government informed the apex court that the governors represent the component states of the federation and have also sworn to uphold the constitution at all times.
The Federal Government maintains that the Constitution of Nigeria recognizes federal, state, and local governments as three tiers of government, and that these three tiers draw funds for their operations and functions from the federation account, as established 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.
That in the face of the violations of the 1999 constitution, the federal government is not obligated under section 162 of the constitution to pay any state, funds standing to the credit of local governments where no democratically elected local government is in place.”
The Supreme Court has fixed May 30 for hearing.