Supreme Court Grants Local Govts’ Financial Autonomy, Orders FG on Direct Allocation of Funds

A landmark judgment, with far-reaching consequences for the governance structure of Nigeria, has just been given by the Supreme Court, strengthening the financial independence of the nation’s 774 local governments.

The judgment given today was presided over by a seven-member panel led by Justice Emmanuel Agim, allowing the local government councils to receive their allocations directly from the Accountant-General of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

This decision came after some states’ governors had allegedly refused to give local governments due shares of their federal allocation.

This ruling compels local governments to now collect their allocations directly from the federal government, without going through state authorities.

The suit was filed by the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, on behalf of the Nigerian government.

The Supreme Court held that it is illegal for governors to dissolve democratically elected local governments chairmen

“A democratically elected local government is sacrosanct and non-negotiable,” the Supreme Court said.

Read also: Supreme Court Reserves Judgment On Local Government Autonomy 

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