The Supreme Court has prohibited governors from dissolving democratically elected local government officials.
In a landmark judgment on Thursday, the apex court stated that such actions would constitute a violation of the 1999 Constitution.
The suit, filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), sought an order to prevent governors from arbitrarily dissolving democratically elected councils. The AGF’s suit was based on 27 grounds.
The 36 state governors, who were defendants in the suit, opposed the AGF’s action.
However, the Supreme Court ruled that the defendants (governors) had wasted their time with the suit.
The highest court in the land also granted financial autonomy to the 774 local government councils in the country.
In the lead judgment read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court criticized governors for their longstanding refusal to grant autonomy to local governments.
Justice Agim emphasized that the 774 local government councils should manage their funds independently.
He dismissed the preliminary objections of the defendants (state governors) and directed that Local Government allocations from the Federation Account should henceforth be paid directly to them, bypassing state government coffers.