LGA Autonomy: Ahead Supreme Court Hearing on May 30,  Nwafor- Orizu Backs  FG



By Hyacinth Eku, Abuja


The demand by the FG that local govts should be autonomous is justifiable, says Nwafor -Orizu 

A constitutional lawyer and principal partner of Friends Chambers Prince Orji Nwafor-Orizu on Wednesday described as justiciable  the demand by the Federal Government (FG) that the local governments areas should be run  autonomously as the third tier of the Federation. He also hailed the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, AGF Lateef Fagbemi for initiating the suit

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has instituted a suit on behalf of the Federal Government, before the Supreme Court, against the 36 state governors in the country while seeking full autonomy for local governments.


In a suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, which was obtained by our correspondent on Sunday, the AGF urged the apex court to issue an order, prohibiting state governors from unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected LG leaders.


The suit which is predicted on 27 grounds, contended that Nigeria as a federation, is a creation of the 1999 Constitution with the President, as the head of the Federal Executive arm of the Federation, and has sworn to uphold and give effects to the provisions of the Constitution.


The constitutional lawyer addressing  journalists in Abuja described the action as a right step toward ensuring that funds accrued to the LGAs are in their custody and control. He argued that the question of governors, sacking duly elected LGA chairmen is surely not contemplated in Nigeria's laws, even as he  cited S.7 of 1999 Constitution  saying that it is unambiguous. While disclosing that it provides for LGA's existence, he was quick to add that the same section makes States to have controls over the finance of the LGAs


The constitutional lawyer addressed journalists recently in his chambers in the FCT 


While describing the action as a right step toward ensuring that funds accrued to the local governments are in the custody and control of the local governments, he says the question of governors, sacking duly elected local government chairmen, and where they exist, is surely not contemplated in Nigeria's laws, even as he  cited S.7 of 1999 Constitution of the Federation, by boldly saying that it is unambiguous. While disclosing that it provides for local government's existence, he was quick to add that the same section makes states to have controls over the finance of the local governments.


On the liberal interpretations of the section, he said that the law allows the local governments to take their money, but the states, according to him, would know what local governments wanted to use the money for. The supervisory power of the state, he went, was what the state wrongly assumed to mean that the local government's finance should be in the state's custody. Faulting the practice in its entirety, he added that a situation whereby, the states appropriate money meant for the local governments, as if it were a part of states' money, shouldn't be encouraged.


On more reasons why he was in support of the FG and AGF in the suit, he added: "The effect of not allowing local governments to use their money, is that the rural dwellers don't have a feeling of government patronage. There is no doubt that local governments will identify village roads and bridges, better than the state governments. It is also true that security will be better controlled in the villages by the local governments, than the states.


He continued: "The local councils are always brought out as if they are incapable of running the affairs of the local governments, when in effect, the truth is that they have no money to run the local governments. Their money is under the control of the states. The view of some of the governors, is that the states created a joint management committee of the states and the local governments funds and it is fraud. The so called committees and the local government chairmen are forced to append their signatures to the state governments use of the local governments' funds."


Congratulating the FG and the AGF for wading into the anomalies, Orji Nwafor - Orizu reminded Nigerians that during the era of military government, that Babangida's government at a time was giving money direct to the local governments and the local governments were performing wonderfully well.