The Supreme Court of Nigeria has ruled to stop payment of Local Government Councils’ allocations through state governments.
The court’s decision stems from a judgment that found Section 162 (4&5) of the Constitution, which mandates a joint account for state and local governments, has been misused by various state governments.
Consequently, the court ordered that funds allocated to local governments from the federation account should be paid directly to them.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Emmanuel Agim highlighted Nigeria’s governance structure as a three-tier system where no tier should be subordinate to another.
The court noted that for the past two decades, states have unlawfully withheld funds meant for local governments, disbursing them at their discretion, which violates constitutional provisions.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the establishment of caretaker committees by state governments and ordered an end to the payment of allocations to such committees.
Justice Agim emphasized that state legislatures do not have the authority to enact laws empowering governors to appoint caretaker committees.
The court also made a significant declaration that any governor who dissolves a democratically elected local government council commits a serious breach of the Constitution and misconduct.
