The Presidency has urged Nigerian State Governors to avoid seeing the Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to the local councils as an affront. Naija News reported earlier that the apex court ruled that it is unconstitutional for state governors to withhold funds designated for local government administrations.
The landmark judgement, delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, emphasized that this practice contravenes the financial autonomy rights of local governments and has persisted for over two decades. In the judgment delivered by a seven-man panel, Justice Agim ruled that the 774 local government councils in the country are to independently manage their funds. The apex court emphasized the division of government power into federal, state, and local levels.
Additionally, the court stated that a state government does not have the authority to appoint a caretaker committee and that a democratically elected government is the only legitimate form of local government council. In a post via X, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the local council is an essential third tier of government, and its emasculation by the governors in the last 25 years has been at the root of the poverty and insecurity.
He wrote:
The Nigerian state governors should not see the Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to the local councils as an affront. It is in their best interest to ensure that the judgment is fully implemented in their domains. The local council is a very important third tier of government, and its emasculation by the governors in the last 25 years has been at the root of the poverty and insecurity we have all over our country. The governors must allow the councils to breathe and flourish again.
