NGF: S’court verdict on LG autonomy will relieve governors of financial burden

AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), says the supreme court ruling affirming the fiscal autonomy of LGAs is a “relief from the financial burden to state governments.”

AbdulRazaq, also the governor of Kwara, said there will be total compliance with the apex court ruling by the governors.

Speaking to journalists after meeting with President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, Abdulrazaq said the governors are “happy with the devolution of power regarding local government autonomy”.

AbdulRazaq said the public “really don’t know how much states spend on bailing out local governments.”

“We welcome the ruling of the supreme court, compliance is a given, and our attorney generals have applied for the enrollment order, which we’ll study carefully,” he said.

He added that “the forum will meet next Wednesday to look at the issue wholly and then come up with a resolution”.

“Like I said, we haven’t seen the enrollment of the court order, and so we really don’t know what is in there,” he said.

Speaking on the implications for states that do not have elected LGA officials, the NGF chairman, who cited Kwara as an example, said the judgment will not negatively affect the state.

He noted that the state government has not been tampering with council funds.

“It’s not going to affect the state. We have never tampered with local government funds. So it is going to continue,” he said.

“What the local governments have to do is manage themselves, especially with the coming minimum wage, to manage their affairs and make sure salaries are paid, traditional rulers get their five percent and those are the main issues.

‘THERE MUST BE GUIDELINE FOR COMPLIANCE’

Meanwhile, Chijioke Edeoga, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election in Enugu,  called for “consequential guidelines” to ensure full compliance with the judgement.

Edeoga also asked the national assembly to speed up work on the review of the 1999 Constitution to remove local government chairmen to minimise their control by state governors.

He said the supreme court judgement aligns with the yearnings of Nigerians for grassroots development.

“The violation of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by governors of Nigerian states has been going on with flagrant impunity for many years and under different administrations since 1999,” he said.

“Local Government Areas, recognized in the Nigerian Constitution as the third tier of government and the one closest to the people, have been deprived of the funds needed for grassroots development, thus existing at the mercy and state governors.”

BACKGROUND

In May, the federal government filed a suit at the supreme court against the governors of the 36 states, seeking full autonomy for the country’s 774 local governments.

In the suit filed by Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, the federal government also requested the supreme court to authorise the direct transfer of funds from the federation account to local governments — under the constitution.

On July 11, the supreme court ruled that the federal government should henceforth pay allocations directly to local government councils from the federation account.

Delivering judgment in the suit, a seven-member panel of justices held that state governments have continued to abuse their powers by retaining and using the funds meant for LGAs.

The apex court also ordered the federal government to withhold allocations of LGs governed by unelected officials appointed by the governor.