The Supreme Court judgement on 11 July, granting financial autonomy to the 774 local councils and recognising them as the third tier of Nigeria’s governance architecture, was truly historic. It was perhaps the most remarkable judgement ever delivered by the apex court in recent times, as it used its power to interpret the law to give a different meaning to …

While many state governors waited with bated breath for Thursday, 11 July Supreme Court ruling on the full autonomy of local governments in Nigeria, one of them stood out, unperturbed by the development. For Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the suit brought before the apex court seeking to strengthen the local government councils by granting them financial autonomy has …

Last Thursday’s judgement by the Supreme Court granting financial autonomy to local government councils marks a significant shift in the country’s governance structure, aiming to reduce the influence of state governors over local administrations, public affairs expert has said. In a statement on Monday, Founder/Chief Strategist of The Rainbow Strategy, Mr. Franklyn Ginger-Eke, the judgement was a bold decision on local …

The Supreme Court has barred governors from dissolving democratically elected Local Government Councils in the country. In a landmark judgement on Thursday, the apex court said that, doing so, would amount to a breach of the 1999 Constitution. In the suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Federal Government sought an order preventing the governors from …

President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court, which affirmed the spirit, intent, and purpose of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the statutory rights of local governments. President Tinubu said that a fundamental challenge to the nation’s advancement over the years has been ineffective local government administration, as governance at the critical …

The Supreme Court, on Thursday, declared that it is unconstitutional for state governors to hold onto funds meant for Local Government administrations. In its lead judgement, read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court observed that the refusal of state government on financial autonomy for local governments has gone on for over two decades. Justice Agim said that local governments …

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has ordered the 36 state governors to file their respective defence to a suit instituted against them by the Federal Government. The Federal Government is seeking for full autonomy for the 774 local government councils. The court also ordered the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Prince Lateef Fagbemi to file his reply within two …

The Supreme Court reenters the contentious legal battle over abortion on Tuesday as it weighs restrictions on the drug that is most widely used in the United States to terminate pregnancies. The conservative-dominated court, which overturned the constitutional right to abortion nearly two years ago, is to hear oral arguments on access to the abortion pill mifepristone. Anti-abortion groups are …

The Supreme Court yesterday dismissed two appeals filed against President Bola Tinubu, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by a former presidential candidate of the defunct Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Ambrose Albert Owuru, and his party. A five-member panel of the apex court, presided over by Justice John Okoro, …

Governor Simi Fubara of Rivers State is thankful to his predecessor Nyesom Wike for his support following the Supreme Court’s validation of his election. The Supreme Court earlier in the day affirmed Fubara’s victory as the governor of the oil-rich state, throwing out the challenge of the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Tonye Cole. The judges, yesterday, in a unanimous decision …