By Queen Madaki, The Bureau News
Nigeria News Today: The Supreme Court has ruled that the Federal Government must henceforth pay statutory allocations directly to local government councils from the Federation Account. The Bureau News reports that the landmark judgment effectively ends decades of financial control exercised by state governments over local councils.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, a seven-member panel of Justices held that many state governments have persistently abused their powers by withholding and mismanaging funds meant for local councils.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, who delivered the lead judgment, declared that states are under a constitutional obligation to ensure democratically elected local government councils and that governors lack the authority to dissolve elected councils and replace them with caretaker committees.
“The amount standing to the credit of local government councils must be paid by the Federation to the local government councils and not by any other person or body,” he ruled.
He further stated that only local councils with democratically elected leadership are entitled to receive Federal allocations. According to the judgment, no state government should henceforth receive funds meant for local governments, and any attempt to keep councils unelected will automatically lead to withholding of funds.
The apex court also issued an order of injunction restraining state governments and their agents from interfering with the direct allocation process, stressing immediate compliance going forward. The Bureau News notes that this ruling is expected to reshape Nigeria’s grassroots governance structure.
Background to the Case
The ruling followed a suit instituted in May by the Federal Government against the 36 state governors. In suit number SC/CV/343/2024, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, sought full administrative and financial autonomy for Nigeria’s 774 local government councils.
The Federal Government argued that continued disbursement of funds to states without democratically elected local government systems undermined the Constitution. It relied on Sections 1, 4, 5, 7, and 14 of the 1999 Constitution, insisting that state governors and Houses of Assembly must uphold constitutional democracy at the third tier of government.
The Bureau News understands that this judgment represents one of the most decisive judicial interventions in Nigeria News Today, aimed at restoring accountability, transparency, and true federalism at the grassroots level.
