Supreme Court Reserves Judgment on FG’s Suit for Local Government Autonomy
The Supreme Court has deferred judgment in the case brought forth by the Federal Government against the 36 state governors, advocating for complete autonomy for the 774 local governments across Nigeria.
Justice Garba Lawal conveyed that the court would inform the involved parties once the verdict is finalized.
The decision to reserve judgment came after a 7-member panel of the apex court concluded the adoption of processes presented by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, representing the Federal Government, and those of the 36 state governors.
During the proceedings, the AGF urged the court to grant all the reliefs sought by the Federal Government in the lawsuit.
Conversely, the governors, represented by their respective state Attorneys General and Commissioners for Justice, contested the Federal Government’s plea, advocating for the dismissal of the suit.
Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had initiated legal action on behalf of the Federal Government, primarily seeking full autonomy for local governments as one of the three tiers of government in Nigeria.
The AGF petitioned the apex court for an order preventing state governors from unilaterally and unlawfully dissolving democratically elected local government leaders, among other demands.
In a separate context, Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo expressed his stance against any form of autonomy granted to local government areas, asserting that it contradicts the principles of true federalism.
Speaking at The Platform Nigeria event organized by a Lagos-based church to commemorate the 2024 Democracy Day, Soludo emphasized that true federalism entails empowering each state to design its preferred local government system. He argued that granting autonomy to local governments would regress Nigeria’s federal structure and undermine its democratic ideals.
