…..Only Elected Officials Will Control Local Councils’ Resources – Tinubu Welcomes Supreme Court Judgement
….We declared fast over LG autonomy – NULGE on Supreme Court judgement
…says 50% of Nigeria’s problems solved
.. It’s an Assault on true federalism’ — Ibori
Reactions have followed the Supreme Court of Nigeria’s judgment on the contentious issue of local government autonomy delivered on Thursday.
Recall that the court, aside from granting full autonomy to the local governments in the country, also ordered the Federal government to stop allocations to local governments without democratically elected council officials.
Amid jubilation among local government staff and residents of Ilorin, Kwara State capital, a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Lasisi.A.K.Jimoh, described the judgment as long overdue.
“If the constitution says the existence of a democratically elected local government is constitutionally guaranteed, then where do you have a caretaker and payments being channelled through state governments to local governments?
“The constitution also states that the local government is the third tier of government, will one tier be under another tier, and is the state under the federal government.?
“I expected the judgment to go a bit further to pronounce emphatically that there cannot be a caretaker committee under the constitution which we are operating now because a caretaker committee is not a local government,” Lasisi declared.
Only Elected Officials Will Control Local Councils’ Resources – Tinubu Welcomes Supreme…
Reacting, President Bola Tinubu welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, affirming the spirit, intent and purpose of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the statutory rights of local governments, saying the “judgement will ensure that it will be only those local officials elected by the people that will control the resources of the people”.
Reacting to the judgement, President Tinubu noted that a fundamental challenge to the nation’s advancement over the years has been ineffective local government administration, as governance at the critical cellular level of socio-political configuration is nearly absent.
The President emphasises that the onus is now on local council leaders to ensure that the broad spectrum of Nigerians living at that level are satisfied that they are benefitting from people-oriented service delivery.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda is about the people of this country, at all levels, irrespective of faith, tribe, gender, political affiliation, or any other artificial line they say exists between us. This country belongs to all of us. By virtue of this judgement, our people – especially the poor – will be able to hold their local leaders to account for their actions and inactions. What is sent to local government accounts will be known, and services must now be provided without excuses.
“My administration instituted this suit because of our unwavering belief that our people must have relief and today’s judgement will ensure that it will be only those local officials elected by the people that will control the resources of the people. This judgement stands as a resounding affirmation that we can use legitimate means of redress to restructure our country and restructure our economy to make Nigeria a better place to live in and a fairer society for all of our people”, the President said.
President Tinubu noted that the provision of some essential amenities and public goods, such as the construction and maintenance of certain roads, streets, street lighting, drains, parks, gardens, open spaces, and other residual responsibilities, including community security, has tottered owing to the emasculation of local governments.
He affirmed that the decision of the Supreme Court to uphold the constitutional rights and ideals of local governments as regards financial autonomy and other salient principles, is of historic significance and further reinforces the effort to enhance Nigeria’s true federal fabric for the development of the entire nation.
The President commended the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), for his diligence and patriotic effort on this important assignment.
He reiterated that his administration remains committed to protecting the principles of the charter governing citizens, institutions of government, arms and tiers of government in furtherance of building an efficient and performance-driven governance system that works for every Nigerian.
We declared fast over LG autonomy – NULGE on Supreme Court judgement
The National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, Osun chapter, said it declared a fast to ensure a favourable judgment of the Supreme Court on Local Government (LG) financial autonomy.
The Osun State NULGE Chairman, Dr Kehinde Ogungbangbe, said this in an interview with NAN on Thursday in Osogbo.
Ogungbangbe commended the apex court for its judgment granting financial autonomy to the 774 local government councils in the country.
He said the judgment would bring a new lease of life across local government areas in the country in terms of growth and development.
According to him, councils will now have available resources to carry out most of their dealings.
“I am very happy and I believe every local government employee in Nigeria should also be very happy with this latest development.
“Osun has been in support of local government autonomy earlier before now, and I know there cannot be any obstacle in making it a reality,” Ogungbangbe said.
LG autonomy: 50% of Nigeria’s problems solved — NULGE
The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) said over 50 per cent of Nigeria’s problems will be addressed following the Local Government autonomy ruling by the Supreme Court.
The National President, NULGE, Ambali Olatunji made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Thursday.
Olatunji was reacting to the ruling by the Supreme Court, granting LGAs financial autonomy.
Olatunji, who expressed joy at the ruling, described the feat as freedom and a new dawn for the country.
“We believe that with the local government autonomy judgment, over 50 per cent of Nigerian problems have been fixed.
“Also, we hope there will be financial integrity at the local government levels and all financial transactions will be tracked.
“We will be working with anti-corruption agencies to ensure growth and development.
“So, we are happy and it is a fulfilment of long-awaited dreams and the struggle in the last 15 years have come to a victorious end,” he said.
The union leader also said that with the judgment, insecurity would become a thing of the past; joblessness would be addressed; poverty and infrastructural gaps would be reduced.
“We appreciate the media, our social partners, especially the Nigeria Labour Congress, and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria for their resilience and support,” Olatunji said.
‘Assault on true federalism’ — Ibori
James Ibori, a former governor of Delta, has faulted the supreme court ruling on the financial autonomy of the 774 LGAs in the country.
Reacting to the judgment in a post on his X page, Ibori described the ruling as an assault and a setback on true federalism, adding that the decision contravenes section 162(3) of the 1999 Constitution.
He said the federal government “has no right to interfere with the administration of LGAs under any guise whatsoever”.
The former Delta governor said the ruling would have “far-reaching” implications, such as “erosion of state autonomy” and centralising “more power to the centre,” among others.
“The supreme court has dealt a severe setback on the principle of federalism as defined by section 162(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended),” Ibori wrote.
“The section expressly provides thus: ‘Any amount standing to the credit of the Federation Account shall be distributed among the Federal and State Governments and the Local Government Councils in each State on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the National Assembly’.
“Sections 6 provide further clarity on the subject matter: ‘Each State shall maintain a special account to be called ‘State Joint Local Government Account’ into which shall be paid all allocations to the Local Government Councils of the State from the Federation Account and from the Government of the State.
“The implications of the ruling are far-reaching, and the issues that readily come to mind are Constitutional Interpretation: The Supreme Court’s ruling appears to contradict the explicit provisions of Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution.
This raises questions about judicial interpretation and whether the court has overstepped its bounds in reinterpreting clear constitutional language.
“Balance of Power: The ruling potentially shifts the balance of power between the federal government and states. By allowing federal intervention in local government finances, it arguably centralises more power at the federal level, contrary to the principles of federalism.
“State Autonomy: This decision could be seen as an erosion of state autonomy. States are meant to have significant control over their internal affairs, including the administration of local governments, in a federal system.
“Financial Independence: The ruling may impact the financial independence of states and local governments. If the federal government can directly intervene in local government finances, it could potentially use this as a tool for political leverage.
“Precedent-setting: This decision could set a precedent for further federal interventions in areas traditionally reserved for state governance, potentially leading to a more centralised system of government over time. That local governments must be ‘democratically elected’ goes without saying.”
The former governor added that he hopes the ruling “will be reviewed at the earliest time possible because it clearly stands the concept of federalism on its head”.
