Dr. Alex Izinyon, a top lawyer in Nigeria, has shared how Nigeria’s National Assembly can help make a big Supreme Court decision real about local government autonomy and LGA funds.
On August 28, 2024, he shared his thoughts with Newslodge, saying lawmakers have not acted while the top court said local government chairmen didn’t get fair treatment.
Earlier, Newslodge reported that the Supreme Court gave a decision stopping state governors from touching or using the 20.6% funds meant for local government areas. This was after the federal government sued.
How National Assembly Can Make the Supreme Court Verdict Happen
The Supreme Court said that sharing funds between state and local governments was just a habit from the past. According to the 1999 Constitution, governors should not keep local government funds.
The court also said that money for Local Government Councils should be sent directly to them by the Federation.
Even after the verdict, Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney General, said the federal government knew some officials didn’t like the decision. He said their actions went against the court.
On August 22, 2024, he asked state Attorneys-General to teach governors about the law and told them they couldn’t appeal the Supreme Court’s decision.
“They should follow the rule of law, which is important for democracy,” Fagbemi said during a meeting, covered by a Newslodge analyst.
Dr. Izinyon responded, saying it’s good for local democracy that the Supreme Court spoke about the problem of joint accounts. These accounts caused a lot of problems for 774 Local Government Areas for over 20 years.
He said the Supreme Court wanted to fix the problems caused to Local Government Area Councils, which the National Assembly hadn’t fixed.
“It wasn’t surprising that the Supreme Court reviewed what’s been happening,” he said.
“It said Section 162(3) of the 1999 Constitution doesn’t mean state governors should hold local government funds. Sections (6), (7), and (8) say money for Local Government Councils should go directly to them.”
“Even when governors sacked elected Local Government Councils, the National Assembly didn’t act.”
He added that it’s unfair to keep hurting Local Government Area Councils. The Supreme Court can interpret the law rightly, even if the National Assembly takes time to act.
He suggested lawmakers pass new laws to align with the Supreme Court’s decision and ensure local governments handle funds well.
“What’s needed now is for the National Assembly to make laws to support this decision and make sure local governments are accountable,” he stated.
Important Things To Know
After the Supreme Court’s decision, the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) shared N1.354 trillion in June among the federal, state, and local governments.
This happened on July 25, 2024, during a FAAC meeting in Abuja led by Wale Edun, the Finance Minister.
Edun said the Supreme Court’s decision wasn’t yet implemented because the details were not given to the Attorney General, Lateef Fagbemi.
“The Attorney General hasn’t received the details to start the process,” he said, but promised the decision will be followed.
Weeks later, on August 20, 2024, the federal government set up a 10-man committee to enforce the Supreme Court decision on local government autonomy. This group includes the Finance Minister, the Central Bank Governor, the Attorney General, and others, but no lawmakers.
So far, this effort is being led by the executive branch.