The National President of the National Union of Local Government Employees, Hakeem Ambali, had made known on Tuesday that the Committee on Local Government Autonomy set up by the Federal Government has concluded its meetings and signed the technical document, which is expected to be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu soon.
Recall that the Federal Government, through Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi, filed a case in May to contest the governors’ power to accept and reject federal funds intended for LGAs.
The lawsuit aimed to stop state governors from forming caretaker committees and arbitrarily dissolving democratically elected local government councils.
According to the AGF, the constitution forbade other forms of government and required a system of locally elected representatives.
In a historic ruling on July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court upheld the financial independence of the nation’s 774 LGs, stating that governors could no longer manage funds intended for the councils.
The seven-member Supreme Court bench, presided over by Justice Garba Lawal, declared that governors’ management and withholding of LG revenue was unlawful and unconstitutional.
Additionally, the top court ruled that the 36 states’ failure to remit payments was illegal and ordered the Accountant-General of the Federation to pay LG allocations straight to their accounts.
A 10-member interministerial committee was also established by the federal government on August 20 to carry out the Supreme Court’s decision regarding local government autonomy.
The committee members include the Minister of Finance & Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Attorney-General of the Federation & Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN; Minister of Budget & Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu; Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein; and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso.
Others are the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Lydia Jafiya, the Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation & Fiscal Commission, Mohammed Shehu, and representatives of state governors and the local governments.
The committee’s primary goal is to ensure that local governments are granted full autonomy, allowing them to function effectively without interference from state governments.
Ambali said on Tuesday, “The committee has held its final meeting, and we have signed the technical document, which will be transmitted to Mr. President by November end. It is expected that states will receive their allocations from FAAC. Also, I can tell you that the President is eager to receive that document. The committee worked within the time frame that was provided.”
