Femi Falana, a human rights activist and senior advocate in Nigeria, applauded the Supreme Court’s decision to grant Local Governments complete financial autonomy, stating that this decision would encourage accountability at the local level.
In its ruling on Thursday, the supreme court ruled that state governors’ continued receipt or possession of cash designated for local councils under the State and Local Government Joint Account is unlawful and unconstitutional.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Federal Government against the 36 state governors. The lawsuit prohibited the state governors from appointing caretaker committees to oversee the LGs.
Falana stated on Channels Television on Friday that “only the candidates of the ruling parties would be declared the winners” in the LG elections due to the state’s electoral commissions’ negligence.
“The governors must study the judgment so that everyone will understand that what the Supreme Court has done is to promote public accountability at the grassroots levels,” Falana stated.
“A lot relies on the Nigerian people, as discussing local government authority is now challenging. The state governors appoint individuals to serve on the electoral commissions in the state. And they have manipulated local government elections throughout the years in a way that only candidates affiliated with the ruling parties would be declared as winners.
The senior advocate went on to say that the LGs “would be expected to fix some schools, tar some roads, and even pay some workers” as a result of the ruling by the supreme court. Therefore, it doesn’t mean that state governments won’t continue to be involved in municipal problems.Just as local governments are a part of the Federal Economic Council, state governments ought to establish state economic councils and permit local governments to participate in them.
Hakeem Ambali, the national president of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, praised the ruling in a statement on Thursday. He continued by saying that the ruling will help the majority of Nigerians and the country as a whole, and that the LG autonomy would close the infrastructure gap and enhance food security and community safety.
