Uncertainty surrounds the fate of local government caretaker committees in 20 states of the federation following Thursday’s Supreme Court judgment that outlawed their existence.
In the landmark judgment, the apex court granted local governments both administrative and fiscal autonomies, declaring that they can only be governed by democratically elected councils.
The situation has left not only officials of the caretaker committees but also workers and contractors wondering what fate awaits them, especially with the declaration by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, that the judgment would take immediate effect.
Among states where local governments are governed by caretaker committees are Ondo, Anambra, Jigawa, Rivers, Zamfara, Benue, Plateau, Abia, Enugu, Katsina, Kano and Sokoto.
Others include Yobe, Osun, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Kwara, Imo and Bauchi.
Workers in some of the affected local governments are worried about how to receive their entitlements if the federal government makes good the directive that funds should not be sent to local governments without democratically elected officials.
Local government workers in Enugu State yesterday said they were hoping that the state would not be treated as one of those without democratically elected local government officials.
They also expressed hope that the federal government would not stop the monthly allocations given to the 17 local government areas in the state on account of running the councils with unelected officials. But the President of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Udoagha Ani, who spoke to our correspondent in Enugu, said the reason for the workers’ expectations was because Enugu’s case was slightly different from other states where caretaker committees are being used to run the LGAs.
According to him, civil servants, who are the heads of personnel management (HPM) are currently in charge of the 17 LGAs in Enugu State in acting capacity till October 5, 2024 when the local government elections would be conducted.
While admitting that there could be serious problems in the system if allocations to the local government areas in the state were withdrawn, Ani expressed confidence in the ability of the state government to handle the situation without causing any problems. He said:
“I want to believe that the officials of the state government in Enugu State are smart and will know what to do.
“Before the sharing of the next allocation and payment of next salaries, the state government should know what to do to ensure that the entire system is not thrown into chaos.
“This is because the judgment was emphatic that no allocation should be given to any local government that is not democratically elected. That could be a problem.
“I’m aware that Enugu State has slated their local government elections for October 5 this year. Let’s see whether this can help them fast track it.
“We believe that in the days ahead, there will be a lot of discussions and underhand dealings so that it will not begin to affect the helpless workers of the local government in terms of payment of their salaries.
“If allocations are not sent to Enugu LGAs, it could create serious problems in the system. But I trust those in authority
“I think the focus is mainly on the obnoxious caretaker arrangements being put in by the state governors.
“But, Enugu’s case is a different ball game. There’s no caretaker in place. What we have is that civil servants are in charge. We expect that Enugu maybe exonerated from that”.
The President of Rivers State Chapter of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Clifford Paul, said yesterday that the union would seek proper explanation of the Supreme Court order on council allocation with a view to understanding how it is going to affect NULGE members.
Local government employees in Plateau State yesterday expressed mixed feelings over the judgment of the Supreme Court which granted autonomy to local governments across the country.
Some expressed fears that their salaries could be suspended until elected local government executives are in place.
The good news, however, is that the Plateau State Government has scheduled council election for October 9 this year. But no one is sure whether the monthly allocation from the federal government would be released to councils in the three months before the date.
One LGA official: Joel Madaki said:
“We are just in trouble. We may have to be in fasting mode for the next three months because the Supreme Court has given the final verdict.
“I am particularly pleased with the Supreme Court judgment, but it is coming with unfavorable condition.” A staff of Jos North LGA, who pleaded anonymity, said:
“I wish the same government will conduct their LGA election this month. If not, we are in trouble if we have to wait till October.
“I just pray that that the federal government will not implement the Supreme Court judgment immediately”
Another LGA staff, who identified herself simply as Margaret, said:
“We have to plead with the state governor to bring the date of their election to August, if not many people will not survive.
Osun LG workers seek recall of elected executives sacked by Adeleke
Local government workers in Osun State have urged Governor Ademola Adeleke to reinstate the sacked elected executives following Thursday’s Supreme Court judgment.
Adeleke had upon assuming office sacked the LG executives elected during the administration of Adegboyega Oyetola.
A worker with the local government in Iwo, Ade Lateef, said:
“With the verdict of the Supreme Court, I doubt salary payment in July.
“I urge Governor Adeleke to recall the sacked elected executive for smooth running of the council.”
Another worker, Mrs Adebisi, said:
“The Governor should be diplomatic with the situation at hand.
“He should play mature politics by recalling the sacked elected officers.
“At least they have one more year to expiration of their tenure.”
Also, the leadership of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, through its chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, said the judgment on local government autonomy favours executives elected under the administration of Adegboyega Oyetola. He said:
“All the appointed caretaker chairmen by Governor Ademola Adeleke have become a bunch of illegality in the eyes of the law of the land.”
In Benue State, there were calls by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to immediately dissolve the caretaker committees in the states local governments. Hailing the Supreme Court judgment in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Chief Bemgba Iortyom, the party said:
“We call on Governor Hyacinth Alia to dissolve the caretaker committees in the 23 local government councils in the state with immediate effect, in compliance with the judgment of the apex court.
Recalling that Governor Alia had dissolved the elected councils for the local government areas of the state on assuming office, Iortyom said the action of the governor amounted to a disregard for numerous court judgments, noting that he has since continued to run the councils through caretaker administrations.
We’re studying situation, says Kano govt
Kano State Government yesterday said it was meticulously studying Thursday’s Supreme Court judgment that granted financial autonomy to the 774 local government councils in the federation.With the latest Supreme Court verdict, it is illegal for any state to run local government areas with caretaker committees, the apex court ruled.
However, Kano is among the 20 states where caretakers are steering the affairs of local government councils.
The Kano State Commissioner for Information, Baba Dantiye said the state government’s lawyers were studying the judgment in order to advise the state properly on what to do.
“Government is studying the situation and awaiting the lawyers to dissect the judgment,” he told our correspondent through SMS while fielding questions from The Nation on the judgment.
Omo-Agege seeks constitutional amendment on LG autonomy
The immediate past Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, yesterday described the Supreme Court judgment that gave financial autonomy to the 774 local governments across the country as victory for accountable governance.
Omo-Agege in a personally signed statement made available to reporters in Warri by his media adviser, Sunny Areh, said the judgment gives the much needed life to good democratic governance at the grassroots.
He said, however, that to make the judgment impactful and guarantee the credibility of elections into local councils across Nigeria, the Constitution needed to be reviewed to transfer organisation of elections at the third tier to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Omo-Agege said:
“Standing firmly once again as the final, infallible judicial protector of the rule of law and constitutional order in our nation, the Supreme Court of Nigeria today delivered a bold, incisive and highly consequential judgment upholding the well-founded constitutional suit of the Federal Government ably led by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR on the critical need to guarantee full financial autonomy to the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in our Federal Republic.
“By this unanimous landmark lead judgment, delivered by the highly cerebral Honourable Justice Emmanuel Agim, JSC, the full erudite panel of seven Noble Lords of the Supreme Court gave the much needed life to good democratic governance at the grassroots of our democracy.
“It is a good day for our democracy and constant desire for accountable governance at all levels in the polity.
“Objectively considered, it can be easily said that today’s reasoned decision by their Lordships of the Supreme Court is a great win for all Nigerians, without exception.
“Even those who may have opposed the patriotic spirit and overriding national interest that fuelled the action instituted by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the highly respected Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, should easily come to terms with the truth that this judgment is good for the nation.
“The nation desperately needs unfettered financial autonomy for our LGAs to enhance their constitutional mandate to deliver good governance, provide qualitative basic amenities, and build robust human capital development across the country.
“By affirming the full financial autonomy of the LGAs; restating that our LGAs can only be governed on the basis of proper democratic elections; declaring the appointment of LGA caretaker committees as a glaring constitutional aberration; declaring that no House of Assembly of a State has the power to make laws interfering with the finances of the LGAs; and consequentially directing the Federal Government to pay monies for the LGAs directly to them from the federation account, the Supreme Court commendably touched positively on the very justice of serious substantive issues that have become popular agitations by vigilant citizens over the years.
“The Court’s progressive interpretation of the law is profound, patriotic and worthy of serious applause.
“It needs to be said that as profoundly far-reaching and helpful as today’s judgment sounds, its benefits may not fully crystalise for the good of the nation until the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) is further altered to guarantee the conduct of credible elections into the LGAs by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“The nation must accept the whole truth that the perennial charade happening in many states in the name of LGA elections is unsustainable. We must terminate that collective shame and evolve a new electoral order that will produce credible leaders that will responsibly and judiciously manage the relative huge resources that will soon start flowing to the LGAs.
“As patriotic citizens, we owe ourselves and the nation an eternal duty of vigilance to sustain our hard-earned democracy. This demands constant vigilance and healthy contestations to enrich the soul of our democracy as demonstrated by the Federal Government in submitting this action to the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for civilised interpretation and healthy answers. Now that the answers have come, may the nation be better for it.
Tinubu has liberated LGs from governors’ suffocation —Ndume
The Chief Whip of the Senate, Mohammed Ali Ndume, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the court action at the Supreme Court that has now liberated local government areas in the country from the financial stranglehold of state governors.
In a statement made available to newsmen, Ndume described the judgment as the biggest achievement of President Tinubu so far since he assumed office in May 2023.
The Borno South lawmaker also called on President Tinubu to immediately commence the implementation of the court judgment, noting that the people at the grassroots must begin to feel the impact of good governance.
The former Leader of the Senate said since state governors hijacked local government administration in Nigeria by relying on a controversial section of the 1999 Constitution as amended, no meaningful development has happened at the grassroots.
He said: “This court action instituted at the behest of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the biggest achievement of his achievements. I’m very happy about the development, and I’m hoping that this will be the beginning of the liberation of local governments in Nigeria.
“I urge the President to immediately commence the implementation of the court judgment. Local Government Councils need to start getting their monthly allocations immediately without any further delay.
“The people at the grassroots level will begin to feel the impacts of good governance now.
“The National Assembly made several attempts to amend the 1999 Constitution and address this grey area. But governors didn’t allow the State Assemblies to give the constitutional concurrence. That was how the attempts failed.
“President Muhammadu Buhari also tried to intervene. Governors didn’t allow him. With this Supreme Court judgment, the issue has finally been rested. No more unnecessary deductions from funds earmarked for local governments.
“The people can now hold the Council chairmen accountable on how they spend their monthly allocations. They’ll begin to demand true accountability and judicious use of the funds they’ll be getting. I salute the courage of President Tinubu.”
Judgment, relief from financial burden to states —NGF
The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has described Thursday’s Supreme Court’s judgment granting financial autonomy to local governments as a relief from financial burden to state governments.
The Chairman of the NGF and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who expressed this position on behalf of his colleagues while speaking to journalists at the State House yesterday, however welcomed the judgment, assuring of compliance by state governments.
AbdulRazaq, who was flanked by the governors of Imo, Hope Uzodinma, and Bauchi, Bala Mohammed, stated that the judgment is a devolution of power that relieves governors of the significant financial burden of bailing out local governments, an expense that he noted many Nigerians are unaware of.
While acknowledging the need for compliance, the NGF Chairman revealed that state Attorney-Generals have applied for the enrollment order, which he said would be carefully studied.
“We welcome the ruling of the Supreme Court. Compliance is a given and our Attorney-Generals have applied for the enrollment order, which we’ll study carefully.
“But by and large, governors are happy with the devolution of power in respect to local government autonomy. It relieves the burden on governors. Our people really don’t know how much states expend in bailing out local governments, and that’s the issue there.
“The forum will meet next Wednesday look at the issue wholly and then come up with a resolution on that.
“Like I said, we haven’t seen the enrollment of the court order and so we really don’t know what is in there,” he stated.
As for Kwara State in particular, AbdulRahman said the judgment will not negatively affect it as the state government has not been tampering with council funds.
“It’s not going to affect the state. We’ve never tampered with local government funds. So it’s going to continue.
“What the local governments have to do is to manage themselves, especially with the oncoming minimum wage, to manage their affairs and make sure salaries are paid, traditional rulers get their 5% and those are the main issues,” he said.
Asked for the reason of their visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the NGF Boss disclosed that they were in the house to discuss various issues with the President.
“We’ve seen the President on various issues from minimum wage, which he met with labor yesterday, the Supreme Court ruling and other national issues that concerns states as well. It’s omnibus,” he said.
THE NATION
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