Nigeria’s Federal Government has taken the thirty-six state governors to the Supreme Court over alleged misconduct in the administration of local government areas (LGAs) across the country.
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. It seeks an order from the apex court to restrain the state governors from unilaterally, arbitrarily and unlawfully dissolving democratically elected local government officials.
The suit also requests an injunction to prevent the governors, their agents, and privies from receiving, spending, or tampering with funds allocated from the Federation Account for the benefit of local governments unless a democratically elected local government system is in place.
Furthermore, the Federal Government seeks an order permitting the funds standing in the credits of local governments to be directly channeled to them from the federation account, in accordance with the Constitution. It also prays for an order to restrain governors from constituting Caretaker Committees to run local government affairs, which is contrary to the Constitutionally recognised and guaranteed democratic system.
In a 27-point argument, the Federal Government contends that “Nigeria, as a federation, was a creation of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, with the President, as Head of the Federal Executive Arm, swearing on oath to uphold and give effect to provisions of the Constitution.
It states that the governors represent the component states of the Federation, with Executive Governors who have also sworn to uphold the Constitution and to, at all times, give effect to the Constitution, which is the supreme law and has binding force all over the Federation of Nigeria.
The Federal Government further argues that the Constitution recognises federal, state, and local governments as three tiers of government, all drawing funds for their operations and functions from the Federation Account created by the Constitution. It asserts that the Constitution mandates a democratically elected local government system and does not provide for any other governance system at the local government level.
The suit claims that the governors have failed and refused to establish a democratically elected local government system, even where no state of emergency has been declared to justify the suspension of democratic institutions. This failure, the Federal Government argues, is a deliberate subversion of the 1999 Constitution, which the governors and the President have sworn to uphold.
The Federal Government maintains that all efforts to ensure compliance with the 1999 Constitution regarding the establishment of a democratically elected local government system have been unsuccessful. It contends that continuing to disburse funds from the Federation Account to governors for non-existent democratically elected local governments undermines the sanctity of the Constitution.
The suit urges the 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 a democratic system at the third tier of government in Nigeria. It also seeks a declaration that the governors cannot lawfully dissolve democratically elected local government councils.
Finally, the suit calls for the Court to “invoke sections 1, 4, 5, 7, and 14 of the Constitution to declare that the dissolution of democratically elected local government Councils by the Governors or anyone using state powers derived from laws enacted by the State Houses of Assembly or any Executive Order, is unlawful, unconstitutional, null, and void.”
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