July 29, (THEWILL) – The recent Supreme Court judgment granting financial and administrative autonomy to Local governments in the country is still reverberating in the polity.
The Minister for Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, last Thursday in Abuja, gave a recent follow-up on the ruling, which abolished the prevailing state joint local government account and handed powers to the 774 local governments councils to manage their funds themselves.
Speaking at the 17th-anniversary annual lecture event of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria in Abuja, Fagbemi threatened that the government would prosecute and jail any chairman found to have misused funds that would henceforth be channelled directly their official accounts for the development of their areas.
He said, “Well, we have a situation on our hands; I know that it is still there, the conduct of elections is to be undertaken by the states.
“But the distinction is this: don’t forget, the governors have immunity, the local government council chairmen or councillors, they have no immunity, so they have to choose between dealing with the funds of the local government as they like and risking going to jail. The choice is theirs (LG chairmen).
“If they want to tamper with these funds and end up in jail, it is their choice. If they want to write their names in letters of gold, activities like construction or road upgrades must be returned to the local government. They don’t all have to come to Abuja.
“If they stay at the local government, we will be able to reduce the level of insecurity that we have in Nigeria today. What obtains offshore is that the security agents can perform optimally because of information that comes to them from members of the public, especially from the grassroots.”
Another major follow-up to the apex court ruling is the sudden response by which states have been running the LGAs with caretaker committees appointed by governors perpetually.
Fagbemi had sued the state governors through their respective state attorneys-general in a suit numbered SC/CV/343/2024. Justice Emmanuel Agim, who delivered judgement on behalf of the seven-man panel, held that the 774 local governments in the country should receive their allocations directly from the Federal Allocation Accounts Committee, FAAC, as governments in the country are divided into three categories: federal, state, and local governments. Thus, it is unconstitutional for state governors to hold funds allocated for the local government councils, the apex court declared. It also said that having a caretaker committee is unknown to law and a local government Council can only be so called when it is democratically elected.
Lauding the federal government for initiating the litigation and the Supreme Court for delivering the judgement, the CNPP called on the Federal Government to ensure the immediate release of funds due to local governments directly to their respective accounts and to monitor their utilization to prevent further abuse.
“We also urge civil society organizations and the media to join us in holding governors accountable for their actions,” Deputy National publicity Secretary of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, , James Ezema told THEWILL.
According to him, the judgment is a testament to the power of the judiciary in upholding the constitution and protecting the rights of the people. We commend the Supreme Court for its courage and commitment to justice.
The CNPP called on governors who are yet to conduct local government elections to end the unconstitutional practice of appointing caretaker committees and immediately allow for the conduct of free, fair, and credible local government polls in their states or forfeits the local government allocations until a democratically elected local government system is in place.
Since the court’s ruling, 13 of such states have quickly directed their independent electoral commissions to prepare to conduct polls in the local governments.
These states are Kaduna, Kogi, Bauchi, Katsina, Osun, Enugu, Benue, Rivers, Jigawa, Imo, Kebbi, Abia, and Anambra states.
Kaduna State, though, is following its electoral timetable unlike others, which have appointed committees to run their local governments. According to the State Independent Electoral Commission scheduled council poll will be held on October 19, 2024. According to the Kaduna SIECOM Chairperson, Hajara Mohammed, the current council members were sworn into office on November 1, 2021. Their three-year tenure will end on October 31, 2024.
In Bauchi State, the Independent Electoral Commission has fixed August 19 for the local government elections in the state. According to the Chairman of the commission, Alhaji Ahmad Makama, the Commission has made the necessary arrangements to ensure that the poll will be free and fair.
Similarly, the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission has announced October 19 as the date for the local government election across the state. The Chairman of the Commission, Mamman Nda Eri, while presenting the Notice of Election/Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the proposed conduct of the local government polls on Tuesday, said that the action is in line with section 197 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and empowered by the Kogi State Government, via the LG Elections Law 2004, and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
He further said, “We diligently prepared this comprehensive Timetable and Schedule of Activities to ensure a transparent, fair, and credible electoral process.
“We assure you that these activities have been designed with utmost consideration for inclusivity, transparency, and adherence to electoral laws.
“As such we present the detailed Timetable and Schedule of Activities, to you all as critical stakeholders, for your review and approval.
“We look forward to your continued support and collaboration to ensure successful organisation and completion of the 2024 Local Government Elections in Kogi State, the Chairman disclosed
The Rivers State Government’s preparation is fraught with legal tango, following various rulings by the courts on the conduct of the poll amid the ongoing political crisis in the state.
Before the apex court ruling, Governor Siminalayi Fubara had sent the LG Chairmen packing as their tenure had come to an end. But the factional Speaker of the House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule had extended the tenure of the Chairman by six months shortly before the expiration of their tenure.
Other states include Katsina and Osun, both of which have fixed the date for the poll in February 2025; Kebbi, which settled for August 31 and Benue, which will conduct the council poll on November 16.
Others are Kebbi, August 31; and Rivers, October 5, pending the vacation of a recent ruling putting it on hold in Kwara and Imo, September 21.
In Ondo State, the date, of the LG council election has been shifted from February this year to July 2024.
Lauding the Federal Government for initiating the litigation and the Supreme Court for delivering the judgement, the CNPP called on the government to ensure the immediate release of funds due to local government Councils directly to their respective accounts and to monitor their utilisation to prevent further abuse.
“We also urge civil society organizations and the media to join us in holding governors accountable for their actions,” Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, James Ezema told THEWILL. According to him, the judgment is a testament to the role of the judiciary in upholding the Constitution and protecting the rights of the people. We commend the Supreme Court for its courage and commitment to justice.
He said, “This judgment marks a new dawn for local government autonomy and a significant blow to the impunity and recklessness of state governors in the last two decades.”
Amos Esele is the Acting Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
