The Supreme Court verdict granting financial autonomy to Nigeria’s 774 local governments have sparked various debates in the nation
Some weeks back the Federal Government had instituted legal action against the governors of the 36 states of the federation at the Supreme Court over what it described as their interference in the administration of local councils in their respective states.
The suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, sought full autonomy for all local government areas in the country.
In the suit, the Federal Government specifically prayed the court to issue an order, prohibiting state governors from embarking on unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders.
In its verdict, the Court declared that the government is portioned into three tiers of federal, state, and local.
The judgment barred the governors from receiving, retaining, or spending the LG allocations.
The Court held that states receiving LG funds violate Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution.
It asserted that the Constitution states that any money leaving the Federation Account must be distributed to the three tiers of government.
While some have praised President Bola Tinubu for carrying out such a timely intervention in curbing the excesses of states governors, others have insisted that the Supreme Court verdict carries no weight and will be impossible to practice.
We must not forget that there is a culture of corruption in the Nigeria political scene and except the mindset of feeding off the nation cake is expunged the result will remain the same.
Some Nigerians might consider this a win, but who exactly is this a win for, the local government councils who might decide to line their pockets fat or the citizenry at the grass root.
Is this truly a silver bullet to address the looting of local government funds or has power simply changed hands and a new crop of demigods have risen to continue the siphoning of resources meant for the grassroot?
Some political stakeholders have also insisted that it is impossible to separate the state government from the local government.
There are arguments that the local governments cannot effectively function without intervention from state governors.
There are also claims that the State and Local Government joint account was created because council bosses were looting funds and not paying teachers.
The former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose while speaking during a television interview condemned the Supreme Court verdict.
Fayose said that even though he does not subscribe to state governors taking the funds of the LGs, it is difficult to separate both tiers.
He said, “While I love and do not believe that any government should take local government funds, may I say to you very clearly this evening that you cannot take the baby from the mother.
“There is nobody that can become council chairman without a governor. Anybody telling you otherwise is wasting his time.
“Let me quickly remind you that the house of assembly of every state controls the activities and checks the activities of the local government.
“While I was governor, I had the privilege of receiving money from Abuja. When you receive money from the account, some people manage the account. They are not politicians or the council chairman.
“There is only one representative of the governor, which is the local government commissioner. All others are local government officials, workers, and pensioners of the council.
“They appropriate the funds. But when you now come and say we are giving power to the local government, what power are you giving to them? No power.
“The state is more effective in administrative performance than the local government.”
The African Action Congress, (AAC) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore argued that the verdict would remain ineffective if the state governors are allowed to continue rigging local government elections and placing their henchmen in power.
He said, “As long as Nigerian state governors control the State Electoral machinery, ruthlessly rig Local Government elections and install their minions (minimes) in the LGAs, the Supreme Court ruling would remain ineffective!
“And at any rate, any time @officialABAT is seen around control of funds, run, please run!”
Also, speaking on the verdict, a former Presidential spokesperson, Doyin Okupe described the Federal Government’s legal battle against the states for autonomy as needless and unfortunate.
According to him, in a true federal system, there are only two component units, the federal and the states.
“We should run a true federal system in which there are two bodies coming together for a union: the Federal Government and sub-nationalities.
“The local governments are principally and completely issues of the state, it absolutely has nothing to do with the federal government and it (the idea of LG as a third tier)should be expunged from the constitution.
“Let the nation’s money be shared between the Federal government and the states. The Federal government asking for local government autonomy in a federal system is an aberration.
“It is becoming so sad that we seem not to know what is right and what is wrong in the country.
“Then, the state government can decide to have as many local governments as it desires for grassroots development and fund it as they like,” Okupe said.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Naija News, the Chairman of Ikorodu West LCDA, Lagos, Hon. Sulaimon Kazeem Olanrewaju addressed some of the concerns on the verdict.
He said, “With my knowledge with what is happening in Nigeria the judgment is just for the populace sake.
“Sincerely speaking. They still need to go to the House of Assembly to get two third of the the House of Assembly to remove that portion, I don’t know the section, I am not a lawyer. That section that binds the two of us together. State and local government.
“If it has not being expunged from the constitution, the law remains and the judiciary is just saying what the populace needs to hear. And they might be pushing people against the council. Local government is not yet free.”
Asked if it is possible for the local government to operate independent of the state, he said, “It is possible, with the amount of revenue that the state has hijacked from the council. If it is back to status quo, the way it was. The only problem I am having is that a lot of council Chairman will go to jail if given full autonomy. I will tell you sincerely because the local chairmen will be held responsible.
“We will have to pay civil servants on our own, recruit on our own. Spend the money the way we want it on our own.
“I could remember back in the day when the council was real council. Elected officials of the council were not responsible because they will not pay teachers as at when due. Before we got to this level something happened. We have forgotten easily.
“In those days, the first local government came up during the Obasanjo military era. After that they won’t pay as at when due, they won’t pay anybody.
“But now, they dare not do that, there is a lot of EFCC, ICPC guarding all of us now. If we are given autonomy the way EFCC is monitoring the state we would also be monitored too.”
When questioned on Fayose’s statement that council workers do not take their job seriously and if given autonomy they would become worse, he replied, “The council Chairman will be held responsible. We will be able to recruit on our own part, no state government will recruit for us.
“Our legislatures will hold us responsible. President cannot hold governors, likewise governors should not be able to hold the chairman. Our council legislature will be very well alive.”
Speaking on concerns that state governors put their henchmen in power, he said, “With the way things is today even if the governor did not put any chairman that he knows. You are out there as an independent minded human being, you have no option than to be the governor’s man, that is the system. But in Lagos we are very free to do what we feel like. Governor has never called me and tell me this is what should happen. Am independent here in Lagos.”
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