The Supreme Court has stopped governors of the 36 states from dissolving democratically elected Local Government (LG) councils in the country.
In a landmark judgement on Thursday, July 11, the court said acting outside this judgement would amount to a breach of the 1999 Constitution.
In the suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Federal Government sought an order preventing the governors from arbitrarily dissolving democratically elected councils. The suit by the AGF was on 27 grounds.
The defendants, the 36 state governors, opposed the AGF for instituting the case.
The Supreme Court, however, said the defendants (governors) only wasted their time in the suit.
The apex court also granted financial autonomy to the 774 local government councils in the country.
In its lead judgement read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court scolded governors for their decades-long refusal of autonomy for local governments.
Justice Agim noted that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves.
The court also said that local government allocations should be paid directly from the federation account.
