The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria and the National Union of Local Government Employees have called on President Bola Tinubu to ensure that state governors comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling on local government autonomy.
On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court granted financial autonomy to the local governments, ordering that their allocations be paid directly to them.
However, six months after the verdict, the Local Government autonomy is yet to take effect, as governors have continued to allegedly frustrate the process.
The ALGON Secretary General, Mohammed Abubakar, expressed concern over the delay in the implementation of the Local Government autonomy.
Abubakar lamented that issues about the Local Government autonomy had been complicated, while the governors continued to interfere with the process.
He said, “The situation is becoming complicated. Our reports suggest that while arrangements have been made for the direct payment of allocations to local governments, there are significant hurdles delaying this process. The local government chairmen, who should be advocating these changes, are often under the control of the governors, leaving them unable to assert their autonomy.”
Abubakar maintained that the implementation of the Local Government autonomy hinged on the president’s decisiveness, urging him to direct the Accountant General and Attorney General of the Federation to ensure that the financial autonomy is achieved.
“The law is clear, and the Supreme Court judgment is binding. What we need now is the political will to carry it out. Without this, the governors will continue to hold on to power.
“We were informed that local governments would begin receiving direct allocations by December. We are now in January, and we remain hopeful that the President will ensure the implementation of this policy”
“It’s crucial that both the Accountant General and Attorney General of the Federation work together to find a way to implement the ruling.”
Similarly, the President of NULGE, Hakeem Ambali, reiterated that the President has the constitutional authority to ensure that the autonomy is enforced.
He shared his optimism on the implementation of direct allocation to local government.
“We were informed that local governments would begin receiving direct allocations by December. We are now in January, and we remain hopeful that the President will ensure the implementation of this policy. He has already shown a commitment to this cause, and we trust he will follow through,” he said.
While responding to inquiries, the Special Assistant to the President on Communications, Kamarudeen Ogundele, clarified the role of the Attorney General’s Office in the matter.
According to Ogundele, the Attorney General’s responsibility was to take the issue to the Supreme Court, which he did successfully.
He stated that the Minister of Finance and the Accountant General of the Federal were responsible for the implementation of the financial autonomy by ensuring that the local governments were directly paid.
“The Attorney General’s role was to pursue the case in court, which he had done. The responsibility for paying allocations falls under the Finance Minister and the Accountant General of the Federation. It’s their duty to implement the payment process,” Ogundele explained
Diversion of LG funds by governors an impeachable offence – Fagbemi
Two weeks ago, the Federal Government said it would initiate criminal actions against elected officials that colluded with state governors to divert allocations meant for the 774 Local Government Areas in the country.
The Federal Government, through Fagbemi, said the decision was in line with the landmark judgement of the Supreme that granted financial autonomy to LGAs.
The AGF, who spoke at the 2024 Annual General Conference of the Abuja Chapter of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents, described the diversion of Local Government funds by governors as an impeachable offence.
Fagbemi said the Federal Government was aware that some governors had planted their loyalists into the various LGAs through shambolic elections.
According to the Justice Minister, though the Federal Government could not interfere with the LGA elections, it would however drag the elected officials to court should they mismanage funds released to them from the federation account.
While insisting that it was the deplorable condition of many LGA secretariats across the country that moved the Federal Government to drag the 36 state governors before the Supreme Court, the AGF said his office would not also hesitate to file another action to challenge the powers of state governments to conduct Area Council elections.
He said, “The situation was also such that even when the secretariats needed to buy stationeries, you had to notify the governor in advance that you wanted to spend your money. And we have listened to such funny arguments before and after the judgment, to the effect that, oh, they are not mature enough. I said, “How are you? Are you any better? Leave them.
“And we have been drumming these into the ears of the local government officials that look, the governors have immunity, but you don’t have.
“So, it is very easy for you to get yourself to Kuje or other prisons spread across Nigeria.”
How governors maintain grips on LGAs
However, there are no doubts that the initial applause that greeted the April 11, 2024 Supreme Court judgement on local government financial autonomy, as a means to usher democratic governance at the grassroots, has suffered a setback as affected states conduct local government polls.
Last month, the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria urged the states that were yet to conduct local government elections to do so.
The appeal was made in a communiqué signed by Hamisu Mohammed, National Publicity Secretary, after ALGON’s 51st National Executive Council Meeting in Katsina.
The NEC expressed its gratitude to President Tinubu for his “Unwavering support in empowering local governments to fulfill their constitutional mandate.”
The judiciary was also commended for its role in entrenching a “Viable local government system, aligning with the popular will of the masses.”
The communiqué reads, “The NEC appreciated the efforts of state governors and the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) in conducting elections across local government areas, with over 30 states now having democratically elected chairmen.
“The remaining states are hereby urged to follow suit so as to fully have a system that is people-oriented according to the vision of Mr President.
“NEC also appreciates the governors for the uninterrupted access given to the chairmen to run their local councils in the various states which has gone far in ensuring the democratic dividends needed gets to the people. This is assuring the governors of a continued robust relationship as our principals to have governance at heart.
“In reaffirming its dedication to good governance, the NEC pledged to deepen its symbiotic relationship with stakeholders, promoting transparency, accountability, innovative service, and uniformity in service delivery at the grassroots level through effective communication and community engagement, which is bedrock for open governance.”
With the October 2024 deadline set by the Federal Government and the Governors Forum for conducting democratically elected local government elections in mind, some states have been systematically violating Section 7 (1) of the Constitution.
The Section declares that, “The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this Constitution; and accordingly, the Government of every State shall, subject to section 8 of this Constitution, ensure their existence under a Law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils…”
States that have conducted local government elections which opposition parties described as mere rigging of candidates of the ruling party into office are: Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Plateau, Abia, Enugu, Imo, Katsina, Kano, Sokoto, Yobe, Delta, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kwara.
Eight states later extended their poll date, either for legal reasons whereby the tenure of elected LGA officials was yet to expire or for mere convenience. For example, Nasarawa State fixed November 2, 2024 for the conduct of its poll because the tenure of its 13 LGA and 147 councillors ended on October 7, 2024.
Similarly, Katsina State, which extended the tenure of its elected Council officials by six months, has fixed its election for February 15, 2025. Ogun, where the tenure of elected council officials ended in July, 2024, conducted the LGA polls on November 16, 2024, where the APC won all chairmanship, councillorship seats
Abia State where appointed chairmen popularly known as Mayors, had been in office, held council polls on November 2. Understandably, Ondo, where a governorship poll was held on November 16, 2024 shifted the conduct of the LGA poll to January 18, 2025. Osun has fixed its poll for February 2, 2025.
Lagos will conduct LG, LCDA election in 2025 – APC
The ruling All Progressives Congress in Lagos State says council elections will be held in all 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas in 2025.
The APC Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, made this clarification in a statement on December 30, 2024 in Lagos, following speculations about the status of the 37 LCDAs in the state.
“In recent times, the leadership of the APC in Lagos State has been inundated by the media, party members and other stakeholders on information about the conduct of the forthcoming Local Government elections, most especially if elections will be held in the 37 Local Council Development Areas – LCDAs.
“It has become expedient to clear the air on the needless and distractive speculation.
“We wish to inform all and sundry that the Local Government elections will be held across the state in the 20 Local Government Councils and the 37 Local Council Development Areas in the year 2025,” Ojelabi said.
According to him, since their creation, the LCDAs have not only been the closest to the grassroots but also brought the desired developments across the state.
He said that the party had observed with keen interest the debates on the desirability of the existence of the LCDAs and the need to hold elections in their political offices.
Ojelabi added, “Our position as a progressive party is that we cannot discountenance the contributions of the LCDAs to the overall political and socio-economic development of the state.
“Our landscape is dotted by several infrastructural projects by the LCDAs, which include road, drainage and market construction, school and housing projects, primary education and health facilities and various social service interventions, among others.
“The various collaborative efforts with the state government on refuse disposal, drain clearing and security are also pointers to their continuous relevance.
“We hope this release will put paid to further speculations as regards the local government elections in order not to unnecessarily heat up the polity.”
He urged party members and all residents to continue to coexist peacefully “as we all strive to maintain the leading position of our state in the federation.”
The move by the House of Assembly to create Area Administrative Councils in replacement of LCDAs through a proposed Local Government Administration Bill has been opposed by political stakeholders.
The bill titled: A Bill for a Law to Provide for Local Government’s System, Establishment And Administration And to Consolidate All Laws On Local Government Administration And Connected Purposes, is still being considered on the floor of the House.
According to the House, the bill to restructure local government administration in the state followed the Supreme Court judgment on financial autonomy for local governments.
In their rush to conduct LGA polls and meet the timeline as conditions for assessing the statutory federal allocations for their councils, many states are violating legal and constitutional provisions that may make the Supreme Court ruling a legal anti-climax.
Following the Supreme Court judgement on July 11, 2024, which granted financial autonomy to local government councils, the Federal Government and state governors agreed to a three-month timeline within which elections must be democratically held in the local government areas, or else, the states risk losing the monthly allocations to LG based on the apex court inspired, “no elected LGA officials, no allocation.”
LGA polls make mockery of democracy, says IPAC
The National Chairman of the Inter Party Advisory Council of Nigeria, Yusuf Dantalle, said that the LGA polls conducted so far in many states were a mockery of democracy.
“The most outrageous part of it all is nomination fees imposed by state electoral commissions. This is neither part of the electoral requirement, nor is it in the Electoral Act.
“How can you impose a fee of N10 million for the position of Chairman and N5 million for a Deputy and N2 million on Councillorship position if the intention is not to shut the door against rivals?
“There should be some minimum standard allowed when it comes to the conduct of elections and announcement of results. But no, the State Electoral Commissions so far have been perpetuating fraud in the release of results. Take for example what happened in Imo State where only names were announced or in Anambra where the government is using the House of Assembly to perpetuate electoral fraud,” he lamented.
In the declared results of elections held in the states across the country so far, the governing parties have won all Chairmanship, Deputy Chairmanship and Councillorship seats, leaving other parties with nothing. Some opposition parties have already filed cases in court to challenge the election.
Professor Okey Ibeanu of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said in an interview that though the apex court ruling is a “star judgement” that is good for democracy, its value will be “completely lost if State Independent Electoral Commissions are not also “rescued” from state governors. SIECs are now their only remaining route to perpetuating the illegalities that the Supreme Court dealt with in its judgement.”
“Fagbemi said the Federal Government was aware that some governors had planted their loyalists into the various LGAs through shambolic elections”
Responding to the illegality allegedly perpetuated in Anambra State as referenced by Dantalle and amplified by federal lawmakers, namely, Senator Tony Nwoye, George Ozodinobi, Reps Afam Ogene, Idu Emeka, and Anekwe Peter to the effect that Governor Charles Soludo’s Local Government Administration Law 2024 contains provisions in Section 13 that provides for State Joint Local Government Account, quite contrary to the apex court judgement, the Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, said both the lawmakers and the IPAC National Chairman, were mistaken.
He said that though he also knew about the lawmakers grouse from news reports and was yet to see or read the law referred to by them, he thinks the local government poll that took place on September 29, 2024 was conducted in accordance with the law.
Mefor said, “The Anambra LGA poll was conducted under a law that sets election timetables. Even the ANSIEC gave 48 days’ notice more than the required 30 days as stipulated by law. It is incorrect to say Anambra conducted an election because of the Supreme Court judgement. Governor Charles Soludo promised during his campaign for the governorship position in the state that he would conduct LG council elections. That he has done. Former Governor Peter Obi conducted an election when he was about to leave office, which means he did not rule Anambra with elected councils, his successor, Willie Obiano, did not conduct any. Governor Soludo has stayed just two years in office, and he has fulfilled his campaign promise. So, everything was done under the law in a transparent and fair manner, passing all integrity tests. Anybody who believes it was done outside any law can go to court.”
SIEC is evil, should be scrapped
Apart from his advocacy for the rule of law in the conduct of polls, Dantalle said SIEC should be scrapped.
“SIEC is evil; it must be scrapped if we must have democracy at the grassroots, where the most important tier of government closer to the people operates. They are there to do the bidding of state governors.
According to Prof Obienu, to release SIEC from control of governors, “funding of SIECs must be charged to the Federation Account and released directly to them. The public must be involved in screening nominees by providing character references and the power of SIECs to hire and fire staff must be guaranteed.”
Okutepa, SAN, said that Judges should remain impartial and free from political influence, making decisions solely based on facts and legal arguments.
“In any nation where the rule of law prevails,” he contested, judges must be independent. “They should not be seen to be partisan or tools for politicians.”
Over the years, the overbearing influence of state governors on the local governments has been a serious issue in the polity. This, many had argued, was hampering the efficient governance at the level of the third tier of government.
Newly-elected governors have always been uncomfortable with inheriting local government councils that are dominated by the supporters of their predecessors or members of opposition political parties.
As soon as a new governor is elected on the platform of a political party that is different from the political party of his predecessor, one of his first assignments is to dissolve local government executives.
This is to pave the way for his loyalists and members of their political parties to take over the third tier of the government.
Their loyalists will give them access to the Local Government funds in the joint accounts.
Analysts believe that this repeated dismissal of the Supreme Court’s authority and the AGF’s directives represents not just a legal battle but a deliberate challenge to President Tinubu’s restructuring
agenda.
