The Federal Government has initiated legal action against the Governors of the 36 States of the Federation at the Supreme Court, alleging misconduct in the administration of Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024 and filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, seeks full autonomy for all LGAs as the third tier of government. The FG is requesting the Supreme Court to prohibit state governors from unilaterally dissolving democratically elected local government leaders.
Additionally, the suit calls for an order allowing funds allocated to LGAs to be directly transferred to them from the Federation Account, as per the Constitution, rather than through joint accounts controlled by governors. The FG also seeks an order preventing governors from forming Caretaker Committees to manage LGAs, which contradicts the Constitution’s provisions for democratic governance.
The FG further requests an injunction to stop governors and their agents from accessing or tampering with funds meant for LGAs when no democratically elected local government system is in place.
The Governors of the 36 States were named in the suit through their respective Attorneys General. In the 27 grounds supporting the suit, the FG argues that Nigeria’s federation, established by the 1999 Constitution, mandates the President to uphold and enforce its provisions. The FG emphasizes that governors, as representatives of the states, are also sworn to uphold the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land.
