On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for state governors to withhold funds designated for Local Government (LG) administrations. In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the court noted that the lack of financial autonomy for local governments has persisted for over two decades.
Justice Agim stated that local governments have not been receiving their allotted funds from the state governors, who have been managing the funds on their behalf. He emphasized that the 774 local government councils in the country should have the authority to manage their funds independently.
The court dismissed the preliminary objections raised by the defendants, the state governors. The case, brought by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, sought to prevent governors from arbitrarily dissolving democratically elected councils. Justice Agim affirmed that the AGF has the right to file the suit to uphold the constitution.
As a result, the Supreme Court directed that local government allocations from the Federation Account should be paid directly to the local governments from now on.