SUPREME COURT TO GIVE JUDGEMENT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTONOMY TODAY

The Supreme Court of Nigeria will on Thursday decide whether local
government councils in the country will begin to operate as a fully
independent entity or remain as an appendage of state governors.

Although Nigeria operates a three-tier system of government; federal, state
and local governments, over the years the local governments seemed to have
been subsumed into the state governments, with the states allegedly taking
over the management of funds belonging to the councils.

The development, amongst others, led the federal government through the
Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) instituting legal action against the
states at the apex court.

After hearing all arguments for and against the suit, the apex court had on
June 13, announced that its judgement would be delivered on a date that
would be communicated to the parties.

After nearly one month, the apex court is set to put to rest the issue of local
governments autonomy.

Spokesman of the apex court, Dr. Festus Akande, confirmed this to
journalists in Abuja on Wednesday during the inauguration of 34 new justices
of the Court of Appeal and High Court of the Federal Capital Territory
(FCT).

According to Akande, the judgement is ready and has been scheduled for
delivery on Thursday July 11.

The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice,
Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, had on behalf of the federal government sued
the 36 states over the manner the governors are running the LGs.

Image credit: greenmedia.ng