The Federal Government has taken legal action against the governors of all 36 states at the Supreme Court, accusing them of mismanaging Local Government Areas (LGAs). The case, filed by Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, seeks full autonomy for LGAs.
The suit, SC/CV/343/2024, demands that state governors be prohibited from unilaterally dissolving elected local government leaders. It also calls for local government funds to be directly channeled from the Federation Account, bypassing state-controlled joint accounts.
Furthermore, the Federal Government seeks an injunction to prevent governors from establishing caretaker committees to run LGAs, insisting on constitutionally mandated democratic elections.
The Federal Government argues that the governors’ failure to maintain democratically elected local governments is a violation of the 1999 Constitution. The suit highlights the necessity for a democratic local government system and calls for the Supreme Court to enforce this requirement.
The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for May 30.
