KEY POINTS
- Senator Nwoye urges enforcement of Supreme Court’s decision of July on the local government autonomy.
- Senate calls on state and local governments to implement the ruling without delay.
- Concerns raised over attempts by state governments to circumvent the ruling through local laws.
The Senator representing Anambra North in the National Assembly, Senator Tony Nwoye has urged the Attorney General of the Federation and other security agencies to make sure that the recent Supreme Court judgment that granted financial independence for Nigeria’s 774 local governments is adhere to.
The legislator expressed fear that delays in enforcing the July 2024 order followed a suit against the federal government by the Ebonyi state government.
Senator Nwoye demands compliance with supreme court ruling on local government existence
On Wednesday, Nwoye urged Nigerians to observe the judgment, stating that councils should administer funds allocated to local governments from the federal account without interference from the state governments.
“We want the Attorney General of the Federation and all security agencies to guarantee that the Supreme Court judgment is complied with,” Nwoye said.
Senate calls for compliance and constitutional changes
The Senate also urged all state and local governments to obey the Supreme Court’s ruling and stop implementing activities that violate the constitutional provisions on local government financing.
In order to protect the ruling the Senate decided to seek further constitutional reforms that will prevent any further attempts at overruling the decision by ensuring that local government receives full autonomy.
Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau said the Senate made the decision after a meeting behind closed doors to discuss efforts by some state governments to try and undermine the court’s ruling.
The motion, co-sponsored by twelve out of the thirty-six states of the federation through their Senate representatives, recorded ways some states manipulated their Houses of Assembly to deny local governments their rightful share of the revenue.
The motion stated, “State governments have used strategies such as; transferring and managing local government funds in joint accounts to undermine the LGs financial independence.”
According to Channels Tv, the local government autonomy has received a boost in the Senate as the chambers agreed on the enforcement of the ruling and the amendment of the constitution, this moves Nigeria one step further to ensuring that the local governments can run their affairs independently and effectively deliver services to the people.
