FG Sues Anambra, 35 Other States Over Local Government Autonomy at Supreme Court

The Federal Government has filed a lawsuit against Anambra and the thirty-five other states at the Supreme Court to enforce local government autonomy. The suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024, was filed on May 20 by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), on behalf of the federal government.

In its submission to the Supreme Court, the federal government seeks an order to prohibit state governors from unilaterally and unlawfully dissolving democratically elected local government leaders. Additionally, the federal government requests that funds allocated to local governments be directly transferred to them from the federation account, circumventing the alleged unlawful joint accounts established by the state governors.

The federal government is also asking the court to prevent governors from appointing caretaker committees to manage local governments, asserting that this practice violates the constitutionally guaranteed democratic system. Furthermore, the suit seeks an injunction to stop governors and their representatives from accessing or spending funds released from the Federation Account intended for local governments unless a democratically elected local government system is in place in the states.

This legal move aims to reinforce the constitutional provisions for local government autonomy and ensure that local government funds are properly managed and utilized for their intended purposes.

More to follow……