Yesterday, the Supreme Court deferred its decision on the Federal Government's case aimed at securing complete autonomy for the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Nigeria.
A seven-member panel, led by Justice Garba Lawal, marked the case for judgment after attorneys-general representing the governors of the 36 states endorsed their legal arguments.
The states, in their separate preliminary objections, called for the dismissal of the lawsuit, citing lack of legal standing on the part of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who initiated the action on behalf of the Federal Government.
Furthermore, the defendants alleged that their right to a fair hearing was violated when they were not served with a copy of an additional affidavit filed by the AGF in support of the lawsuit.
Several states argued that they already have democratically elected officials in their LGAs, contending that the FG's lawsuit constitutes an abuse of the legal process.
Following deliberations, the panel chaired by Justice Lawal announced it would inform the parties of the judgment date.
In the lawsuit, the Federal Government sought the Supreme Court's approval for full autonomy for all LGAs as the third tier of government. It also requested an order prohibiting state governors from unilaterally dissolving democratically elected local government leaders and directing funds allocated to LGAs from the Federation Account to be directly disbursed to them, bypassing alleged unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
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