By Vincent Egunyanga, John Danjuma, David Lawani, and Cajetan Mmuta
Following the alleged attempt by state governors to circumvent the local government funds after the Supreme Court judgement that restored financial autonomy to the third tier of government, Nigerians have vowed to resist this unconstitutional move by the sub-nationals.
A cross-section of Nigerians who contributed to this vex issue roundly condemned the act of lawlessness planned by the state governors to continue to keep the local government in perpetual bondage financially, thus urging the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, to seek redress in the law court in case there is an infraction caused by the state governors in the disbursement of LG funds.
According to Emeka Umeagbalasi, chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (InterSociety), Civil Society Organisation (CSO), “The issue is purely a legal matter that borders on the enforcement of the Supreme Court verdict as contained in Section 287 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which talks about mandatory and general enforcement of the Supreme Court judgement.”
Umeagbalasi reasoned that aside from taking legal action to redress the alleged anomaly in the chain of disbursement of the LGs funds as directed by the apex court in its judgement, the masses, through galvanised public opinions, professional bodies, CSOs, and the media, should take leading roles to press home the demand that the Supreme Court judgement be implemented to the letter.
The human rights activist maintained that governors would not have their way in the face of the challenges they have posed if the masses resist them, saying that they are likely to have more than one thousand forms of protest.
*Charge NASS to make law to enforce S’ Court judgement
He called on the National Assembly to tinker with the constitution to make the Supreme Court judgement easier to implement in the local government’s favour by giving full autonomy to local governments.
“The National Assembly should enact a law to create a different consolidated revenue account for the local government system such that once money is released to the local government, it goes straight into separate accounts of the local government areas.
This will make it impossible for state Governors to tamper with the funds channelled into local governments’ accounts.”
Also, a senior lawyer and State Secretary of the Labour Party (LP) in Anambra State, Barrister John Chibunna Okoli-Akirika, said the National Assembly’s intervention is in perfect order, “but I will say that they should take more proactive measures beyond ordinary motion.
“They should prevail on the federal government; they should make sure that the Attorney General challenges those laws purportedly inherited by the state governments at the Supreme Court.
“So, if the Attorney General could go to court to interpret the Constitution and the Supreme Court interpreted the Constitution, and the state governors are now enacting laws to subvert the Supreme Court judgment, it is now incumbent upon the Attorney General of the Federation to go back to the Supreme Court to challenge the actions of the various state governments.”
Another lawyer, Paul Omoluabi, asserted that governors’ move to continue to maintain their hold on the local government councils following the Supreme Court judgement over the financial autonomy of the 774 LGAs was unconstitutional.
Omoluabi noted that the relevant extant law has explained the position of the LGAs, stating that the council can challenge the governors’ overbearing influence in court if they feel they are no longer comfortable with their operations.
He said, “The constitutional provisions and judicial pronouncement granting autonomy to Local Government are unambiguous, and the answer to any issue at this stage is straightforward.
“Notwithstanding the lingering concerns regarding State Governors’ potential interference with fund control. It is settled law that the current legal framework empowers Local Governments to manage their finances independently.
“To fully exercise this autonomy, Local Governments and their representatives must assert their rights under existing laws and refuse State Governors’ actions regarding fund control. If state governors attempt to regain control through legislation, local governments can challenge such laws in court and seek declarations of such law as unconstitutional.”
At this stage, taking pre-emptive legal action would be an academic exercise. The extant law prevails until a contrary law is enacted or a breach occurs.
