The Supreme Court will on Thursday, July 11, deliver judgment in the suit filed for the Federal Government by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) against the states in relation to the dispute over the autonomy of Local Governments in the country.
The apex court made this public via a notice sent to parties in the case.
A seven-member panel, presided over by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba had on June 13 after taking final submissions from lawyers to parties, announced that a date for the judgment would be communicated to parties and their counsel.
In his final submission on Thursday, the AGF, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN urged the court to uphold the case made out by the plaintiff and grant all the prayers sought.
The 36 states, represented by their various lawyers argued otherwise, quarried the competence of the suit and the jurisdiction of the court to hear it.
They prayed the court to either strike it out by allowing their preliminary objections or dismiss the suit by upholding their counter-affidavits.
Professor Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), Prof Yusuf Ali (SAN), Sebastine Hon (SAN) and Tijani Gazali, SAN (the Director of civil Appeals at the Federal Ministry of Justice) appeared with Fagbemi for the Federal Government.
The legal teams of the states were led by their Attorneys General, with others represented by private lawyers.
The AG, Nasarawa State, Shuaibu Labaran (SAN) led the state’s team; AG, Abia State, Ikechukwu Uwanna led the state’s team; Adamawa State’s AG, Afraimu Jingi (SAN) led the state’s team;
AG, Akwa Ibom State, Uko Udom (SAN) led its team; while Dayo Apata (SAN) the AG of Ekiti State led the state’s team.
AG, Edo State, Oluwole Osaze Uzzi led the state’s team; Kingsley Udeh (SAN), AG of Enugu State led its team; Dr. Olukayode Ajulo (SAN), the AG of Ondo State led the state’s team; Oluwole Jimi-Baba (SAN), the AG of Osun led the state’s team; Abiodun Aikomo (SAN) the AG of Oyo State led the state’s team, while Hameed Oyenuga, the Director Civil Litigation, Lagos State Ministry of Justice led Ade Ipaye and others for the state.
Private lawyers that led some states’ teams included Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) for Anambra State; Ahmed Raji (SAN) for Kano State; Joseph Daudu (SAN) for Kogi State; Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN) for Ogun State; James Usman (SAN) for Borno State; Kamar Fagbemi for Katsina State, and Olanrewaju Oshinaike for Kebbi State.
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The plaintiff, in the suit, marked: SC/CV/343/2024 is praying the Apex Court for an order prohibiting State Governors “from unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected leaders for local governments.”
It is also praying the Supreme Court for an order permitting the funds standing in the credits of Local Governments to be directly channelled to them from the Federation Account in line with the provisions of the Constitution, as against the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
It wants an order stopping governors from constituting caretaker committees to run the affairs of Local Governments as against the constitutionally recognized and guaranteed democratic system.
Also, the fed govt wants an order of injunction restraining the governors, their agents and privies from receiving, spending or tampering with funds released from the Federation Account for the benefit of local governments when no democratically elected local government system is put in place in the states.
The fed govt premised its prayers on 27 grounds, including that the country is a creation of the Constitution with the President as Head of the Federal Executive arm of the Federation and has sworn to uphold and give effects to the provisions of the Constitution.
“The governors represent the component states of the Federation with Executive Governors who have also sworn to uphold the Constitution and to at all times, give effects to the Constitution and that the Constitution, being the supreme law, has binding force all over the Federation of Nigeria.
“The Constitution of Nigeria recognizes federal, state and local governments as three tiers of government and that the three recognized tiers of government draw funds for their operation and functioning from the Federation Account created by the Constitution.
“By the provisions of the Constitution, there must be a democratically elected local government system and the Constitution has not made provisions for any other systems of governance at the local government level other than a democratically elected local government system.
“In the face of the clear provisions of the Constitution, the governors have failed and refused to put in place a democratically elected local government system even where no state of emergency has been declared to warrant the suspension of democratic institutions in the state.
“The failure of the governors to put democratically elected local government system in place is a deliberate subversion of the 1999 Constitution which they and the President have sworn to uphold.
“All efforts to make the governors comply with the dictates of the 1999 Constitution in terms of putting in place, a democratically elected local government system, has not yielded any result and that to continue to disburse funds from the Federation Account to governors for non-existing democratically elected local government is to undermine the sanctity of the 1999 Constitution.
“In the face of the violations of the 1999 Constitution, the Federal Government is not obligated under Section 162 of the Constitution to pay any state, funds standing to the credit of Local Governments, where no democratically elected local government is in place.”