The Federal Government of Nigeria has filed a lawsuit against the governors of the 36 states at the Supreme Court, alleging misconduct in the administration of Local Government Areas (LGAs). The suit, filed by Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, seeks full autonomy for LGAs across the country.
The Federal Government is asking the court to issue an order prohibiting state governors from arbitrarily dissolving democratically elected local government leaders. The governors are being sued through their respective Attorneys General.
Additionally, the suit requests that funds allocated to local governments be directly channeled to them from the federation account, bypassing the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by state governors. The Federal Government also seeks an injunction to stop governors from forming caretaker committees to run local governments, insisting on the constitutionally mandated democratic system.
In its arguments, the Federal Government emphasized that Nigeria’s constitution recognizes federal, state, and local governments as three tiers, each drawing funds from the federation account. It asserted that the governors’ failure to establish democratically elected local governments subverts the constitution, undermining the rule of law and democratic governance.
The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for May 30.
