The Anambra State High Court, sitting in Awka, the state capital, has dismissed the case filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Labor Party (LP), challenging the local government autonomy bill. approved by the State House of Assembly.
The sentence was handed down by Judge Jude Okafor at around 8pm on Tuesday.
Speaking to journalists reacting to the ruling at the court premises, APC lawyer, Chukwunoso Chuwuba, who expressed displeasure over the ruling, said the party would challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal “because the ruling did not match with that of the Supreme Court”. “Judicial decision.”
Recall that the Anambra State House of Assembly had enacted the Anambra State Local Government Administration Bill, 2024, despite stiff resistance from the APC and Labor Party legislators representing the state House of Assembly. .
The bill was passed during a plenary session of the state assembly in Awka, the state capital, immediately after the September 27, 2024 local government elections.
The law passed in September 2024 also drew strong criticism from the opposition and civil society groups, who described it as an intention by the state government to circumvent the Supreme Court decision issued on July 11, 2024, which ordered that Funds allocated to Nigeria 774 local government areas will be deposited directly into LG accounts rather than through state-controlled joint accounts.
But soon after the bill was passed, opposition parties in the state, including the APC and LP, vehemently opposed the legislation, saying it undermines Supreme Court rulings on the financial autonomy of governments. and therefore challenged the process in court.
Members of the opposition parties, including sitting legislators like Senator Tony Nwoye and members of the House of Representatives, George Ozodinobi, Afam Ogene, Idu Emeka and Anekwe Peter, accused the state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, of orchestrating a systematic effort to financially weaken the 21 local government areas in Anambra State.
Reacting to the high court ruling dismissing his case, APC lawyer Chukwunoso Chuwuba expressed his displeasure over the ruling and insisted that the APC would challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.
Chuwuba said: “As I speak to you now, I have already prepared my document to challenge the result because we are not satisfied with the ruling as it does not coincide with the ruling of the Supreme Court on the financial autonomy of local governments and therefore “We are challenging the process in the appeals court.”
The Senior Counsel of the Labor Party, Barrister John Okoli Akirika, also spoke to newsmen at the court premises and said: “What happened is that some time ago, the Anambra State House of Assembly enacted a law that intended contain provisions in said law that contradicted the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Law.
“And the Labor Party chose to go to court to challenge the law, and today the court ruled, quite surprisingly, that Section 28 of the Electoral Act, which prescribes the length of notice that must be given before holding elections elections, only applies to INEC Elections when Section 150 also stated that these laws will also apply to elections conducted by independent state electoral commissions.
“So, one would hope that, along with the Supreme Court, the court would have held that the holding of elections is determined in accordance with federal law, which in this case is the electoral act. But surprisingly, the court held that this is state legislation, and what unfolded in court today is an unwarranted departure from the settled precedence case. What the court should do is declare that legislation void due to its inconsistencies with federal law.
“What we will do is obtain instructions from the Labor Party and examine this matter on appeal, because certainly the scope of our jurisprudence must be expanded and we will challenge the matter in the Court of Appeal,” Akirika said.
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