By Uzair Adam Imam
The Supreme Court has reserved judgment in a suit filed by the Federal Government against the 36 state governors over the alleged misconduct in the administration of Local Government Areas.
The Federal Government is seeking full autonomy for local government areas and wants an order to stop governors from dissolving democratically elected local government leaders.
The government also wants funds meant for local governments to be channelled directly to them from the federation account, instead of the joint accounts created by governors.
The suit argues that the constitution recognizes federal, state, and local governments as three tiers of government, and that the failure of governors to put in place democratically elected local government systems is a deliberate subversion of the constitution.
The Federal Government claims that it is not obligated to pay funds to states that do not have democratically elected local government systems in place.
The Supreme Court’s judgment will determine the fate of local government administration in Nigeria and the extent of autonomy they will enjoy.