The Supreme Court of Nigeria is set to deliver a landmark much-anticipated judgment on July 11 regarding the contentious issue of the 774 local government autonomy.
The suspense case aimed to re-address critical questions that could further reshape the beauty of democracy among the tiers of government in Nigeria.
According to Nigeria Tribune Online, a document sighted at the apex court on Wednesday showed that parties in the suit have been notified through their respective lawyers.
It was observed that the notice for the judgment date was served on the Federal Government through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja.
The Supreme Court had on Thursday, June 13, 2024, reserved judgment in the suit filed on behalf of the Federal Government by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), against the state governors over the autonomy of Local Governments in the country.
A seven-man panel of the apex court, led by Justice Garba Lawal had reserved judgment to a date that would be communicated to parties after governors of the 36 states of the Federation, through their respective Attorneys-General and the Federal Government adopted their briefs of argument in the suit.
The states, in separate preliminary objections they filed before the apex court, sought the dismissal of the suit with substantial cost.
They contended that the AGF, who initiated the action on behalf of the Federal Government, lacked the locus standi (legal right) to do so and further alleged that the AGF breached their right to a fair hearing when he failed to serve them with a copy of a further affidavit he filed in support of the suit.
Besides, some of the states argued that they have democratically elected local government officials in place and insisted that the suit by the FG amounted to an abuse of the judicial process.
The Federal Government had in the suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, prayed to the Supreme Court to okay full autonomy for all the local governments in the country as the third tier of government.
It prayed the court to issue an order prohibiting state governors from embarking on unilateral, arbitrary, and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders.
As well as an order permitting the funds standing in the credits of local governments to be directly channeled to them from the Federation Account in line with the provisions of the Constitution as against the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
Besides, FG prayed to the Supreme Court for an order stopping governors from further constituting caretaker committees to run the affairs of local governments as against the constitutionally recognized and guaranteed democratic system.
It equally applied for an order of injunction, restraining the governors, their agents, and privies, from receiving, spending, or tampering with funds released from the Federation Account for the benefit of local governments, when no democratically elected local government system is put in place in the states.
FG argued that Nigeria, as a federation, was a creation of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, with the President, as Head of the Federal Executive Arm, swearing on oath to uphold and give effects to provisions of the Constitution.
