Supreme Court Grants Local Governments’ Financial Autonomy
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has granted financial autonomy to local governments in the country in activities concerning federal government allocations, ruling against dependence on state governors.
The court declared that local governments dependence on governors to get funds after a disbursement by the federal government is a trample on the rights of the third-tier level of government.
The autonomy was granted in a verdict by Justice Emmanuel Agim at the court in Abuja on Thursday following a petition by the local governments in the country in a suit initiated by the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Lateef Fagbemi.
The suit seeked the safeguarding the rights of the third-tier level of government in accordance with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Agbim, delivering the judgement, said that henceforth, the local government should independently get allocations from the federal government without the overseeing by the state governors.
In addition, the ruling also restrains the executive arm from any form of unilateral, arbitrary, and unlawful dissolving of all 774 democratically elected local government chairmen from their respective councils.