Supreme Court Receives Case As Federal Government Takes Legal Action Against 36 Governors

Supreme Court Receives Case As Federal Government Takes Legal Action Against 36 Governors
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The Federal Government has filed a lawsuit against the Governors of all 36 states of the Federation at the Supreme Court, alleging misconduct in the administration of Local Government Areas (LGAs). The suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024 and filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), seeks to grant full autonomy to all LGAs as the third tier of government.

In the suit, the government requests the Supreme Court to issue orders prohibiting state governors from unilaterally dissolving democratically elected local government leaders and from creating unlawful joint accounts for local government funds. Additionally, the government seeks an injunction to prevent governors from appointing Caretaker Committees to run LGAs instead of implementing democratically elected systems.

The lawsuit argues that the failure of governors to establish democratically elected local government systems violates the 1999 Constitution and undermines the sanctity of the law. The Federal Government contends that it is not obligated to disburse funds to states where democratically elected local governments are not in place, as stipulated by Section 162 of the Constitution.

The case signals a significant legal battle over the autonomy and governance of local government areas in Nigeria.