You may have noticed the heat among state governors since the Supreme Court judgement of Thursday, 11 July 2024, which granted financial autonomy to the Local Government Areas (LGAs). The discomfort is not unusual; it is expected. Dismantling a system that thrives on prebendal arrangement does not come easy.
For some governors, the councils have over time become conduit pipes and platforms for lining their pockets and settling their linchpins; cronies used for odd assignments at election periods. Thus, rather than allow the LGAs perform their duties as the tier nearest to the grassroots, they have been reduced to “jobs for the boys”. The apex court judgement is therefore bound to rattle them.
The Court had in its judgement, declared that it is unconstitutional for governors to hold funds allocated for local government administrations. It further declared that a state government has no power to appoint a caretaker committee, stressing that a local government council is only recognisable with a democratically elected government.
The seven-man panel, in the judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, declared that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves.
The court held that the power of the government is portioned into three arms of government, the federal, the state and the local government. It ruled that state governments are perpetuating a dangerous trend by refusing to allow democratically elected local government councils to function, instead, appointing their loyalists who can only be removed by them.
“A democratically elected local government is sacrosanct and non-negotiable,” the court said.
The judgement is a fallout of a suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), on behalf of the Federal Government, seeking to grant full autonomy and direct funding to all 774 local government councils in the country.
In response, the 36 state governments, through their attorneys general, filed a counterclaim, arguing that the Supreme Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
In the judgement, Justice Agim affirmed that the AGF has the legal authority to initiate the lawsuit and uphold the constitution. Justice Agim said, “I hold that the plaintiff’s request is hereby approved and all the reliefs granted.”
With the new development, the councils are expected to assume their full role as the closest tier of the government to the people. A verdict of this nature, given its import, is bound to generate reactions from different segments of the society, with some arguing that only the states and federal government constitute the two tiers of a sovereign. We are not bothered with legal interpretation of the judgement here. Lawyers are doing so. Ours is how to tailor the councils to serve the people.
The 1999 Constitution which gave the Councils form, fashioned the system as the third leg in the decentralization of the governance process. The others are the Federal and State governments. With the Federal Government remotely distant from the electorate and the State almost overwhelmed by a multitude of functions, the Local Government was envisioned to relate to and cater for the people at the grassroots.
Section 7(1) provides that: “The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this constitution guaranteed; 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.” The discarded 1979 constitution had made similar provisions in Section 7, subsection 2.
The law is a follow-up to the 1976 local government reforms – a major fallout of the then Generals Olusegun Obasanjo/Shehu Yar’Adua political transition agenda, aimed at transferring power to an elected civilian government in 1979.
Before then, council administration had existed in different forms in different parts of the country. There had, for instance, been County Councils, Municipal Councils, Divisions or Native Authorities, depending on time and areas of operation. Various forms of elections were conducted to choose members of the councils, with some chosen by appointment or consensus by their respective constituencies.
In his impressive opinion piece published in TheNiche newspapers, on June 14, 2024, titled; ‘Federalism, local government autonomy and the crisis of identity in Nigeria’, Austin Emaduku a public affairs analyst, had in part, observed that “Local government councils, counties, prefectures, cities, boroughs, municipalities, etc., the world over, are regarded as vehicles of grassroots development because of their closeness to the people. It is for this reason that it is often argued that they be granted enough financial strength and space to operate”. The Supreme Court has by its judgement restored the independence of that tier of government.
But it is not yet celebration time for the councils. By the last count, no fewer than 13 states have since the judgement, put up arrangements for council elections. Among these are Kaduna, Kogi, Bauchi, Katsina, Osun, Enugu, Benue, Rivers, Jigawa, Imo, Kebbi, Abia, and Anambra. It is tempting to assume that the governors rushing to conduct the local government polls, are in the right direction. But there is no hiding the fact that the heat is on them. What is at stake is more than what can be imagined. The risks of losing the huge chunk of money that ordinarily comes in on behalf of the councils are becoming imminent and scary. That accounts for the nervousness among the governors. And with the exasperation comes desperation.
That is where Nigerians need to watch closely. The elections in the councils should not be conducted for the fun of it or to fulfill the books. Knowing the average Nigerian politician and his tendencies to beat the bends, some of the governors will not watch the control of the local governments slip off their fingers without a fight. They will rather go to any unimaginable lengths to compromise the system to ensure that they are still in control of the council funds through their proxies.
That is the real challenge. So far, contests at that tier of government conducted by the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) do not have semblance of elections, but mere endorsement of preferred candidates by the governors. This is why many are calling for the scrapping of SIECS. There is therefore the need for an arrangement that will ensure that polls in the councils are free and fair.
Thus, beyond the euphoria of the Supreme Court verdict which grants autonomy to the local government areas, there is need to ensure that the judgement is fully implemented.
