- As President Reacts to Supreme Court Judgement on Local Govt Autonomy
By Halimah Olamide
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday said lack of effective local government administration had been at the heart of stagnated development in the country.
Tinubu stated this while reacting to the ruling of the Supreme Court which granted financial autonomy to the 774 local government areas in the country.
According to the President, the decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria affirmed the spirit, intent, and purpose of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the statutory rights of local governments.
NPO Reports that the Supreme Court had held that it is illegal for Governors to dissolve democratically elected local governments.
It also ordered the Federal Government to henceforth withhold allocations to Local Governments governed by unelected officials appointed by the Governor.
The court in, addition, barred the Federal Government from further paying LG allocations through the State Governments since the practice has been abused by Governors.
In his reaction, Tinubu stated “that a fundamental challenge to the nation’s advancement over the years has been ineffective local government administration, as governance at the critical cellular level of socio-political configuration is nearly absent.”
The President noted that the onus is now on local council leaders to ensure that the broad spectrum of Nigerians living at that level are satisfied that they are benefitting from people-oriented service delivery.
The president was quoted as stating, “The Renewed Hope Agenda is about the people of this country, at all levels, irrespective of faith, tribe, gender, political affiliation, or any other artificial line they say exists between us. This country belongs to all of us. By virtue of this judgement, our people – especially the poor – will be able to hold their local leaders to account for their actions and inactions. What is sent to local government accounts will be known, and services must now be provided without excuses.
“My administration instituted this suit because of our unwavering belief that our people must have relief and today’s judgement will ensure that it will be only those local officials elected by the people that will control the resources of the people. This judgement stands as a resounding affirmation that we can use legitimate means of redress to restructure our country and restructure our economy to make Nigeria a better place to live in and a fairer society for all of our people,” President Tinubu states.
President Tinubu notes that the provision of some essential amenities and public goods, such as the construction and maintenance of certain roads, streets, street lighting, drains, parks, gardens, open spaces, and other residual responsibilities, including community security, has tottered owing to the emasculation of local governments.
“The President affirms that the decision of the Supreme Court to uphold the constitutional rights and ideals of local governments as regards financial autonomy, and other salient principles, is of historic significance and further reinforces the effort to enhance Nigeria’s true federal fabric for the development of the entire nation.”
President Tinubu commended the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) for his diligence and effort on this important assignment.
The President states that his administration remains committed to protecting the principles of the charter governing citizens, institutions of government, arms, and tiers of government in furtherance of building an efficient and performance-driven governance system that works for every Nigerian.