The National Councilors Forum of Nigeria has described the Supreme Court’s judgment asserting the financial autonomy of local governments in the country as one of the greatest days in the history of the country that would go a long way to cement the nation’s federal and provide dividends of democracy to teeming Nigerians.


Addressing a press conference in Abuja, the Forum led by its President, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Shuaibu Baba said the judgment as shown that “It is clear that the constitution of Nigeria recognizes federal, states and local governments as three tiers of government and that the three recognized tiers of government draw funds for their operation and functioning from the federation account created by the constitution.” 


 He noted that the judgment has also shown clearly that: “It is also clear that in the provisions of the constitution, there must be a democratically elected local government system and that the constitution has not made provisions for any other systems of governance at the local government level other than democratically elected local government system.”


Baba noted that “in the face of the clear provisions of the constitution, some state government the governors refused to put in place a democratically elected local government system even where no state of emergency has been declared to warrant the suspension of democratic institutions in the state.”


He added that: “We also agree that the failure of some state governments to put democratically elected local government system in place is a deliberate subversion of the 1999 Constitution which they and the President have sworn to uphold.


“It is also agreeable that all efforts to make some state government comply with the dictates of the 1999 Constitution in terms of putting in place a democratically elected local government system, has not yielded any result and that to continue to disburse funds from the federation account to such state for non-existing democratically elected local governments is to undermine the sanctity of the 1999 constitution.


“Consequently, we, the leadership of the National Councilors Forum of Nigeria hereby present ourselves today, to rejoice with the Federal Government, the entire local governments of the federation and ultimately the Supreme Court, for this hilarious success of granting the local governments their constitutional rights and autonomy to that effect.”


Baba said elected leadership at the council level could not be held accountable for resources allocated to them, adding that the local government administration is duty bound to employ people, initiate and execute projects and bring development and dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of all Nigerians.