The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has announced a national day of prayer and fasting in anticipation of a favorable Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy scheduled for Thursday. Hakeem Ambali, the national president of NULGE, communicated this initiative via a text message sent to our correspondent on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to reports, the Supreme Court is set to deliver its judgment in a suit seeking full autonomy for the 774 local governments across Nigeria. The suit, filed by the Nigerian government against the governors of the 36 states, aims to secure greater independence for local governments from state control.
“NULGE declares Tomorrow a day of national prayer and fasting towards victory for Local Government Autonomy at Supreme Court,” Ambali’s message read.
The suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024, was initiated by the Federal Government through the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi. The Federal Government is seeking an order for full autonomy for local governments, preventing state governors from arbitrarily dissolving democratically elected councils and replacing them with caretaker committees.
The Federal Government’s legal action underscores the recurrent issue where state governors dismiss elected local councils and appoint caretaker committees. The originating summons emphasizes that such actions contravene the constitution, which mandates a democratically elected local government system.
The Federal Government’s suit is built on 27 grounds, including:
1. The Nigerian constitution recognizes federal, state, and local governments as the three tiers of government, all drawing funds from the federation account.
2. The constitution mandates a democratically elected local government system, with no provisions for alternative governance structures at the local level.
3. Despite clear constitutional provisions, governors have failed to establish democratically elected local governments, except in declared states of emergency.
4. The governors’ failure to ensure democratically elected local governments represents a deliberate subversion of the 1999 Constitution.
5. Efforts to enforce compliance with the constitutional mandate for democratically elected local governments have been unsuccessful. Continuing to disburse funds from the federation account to governors for non-existent democratically elected local governments undermines the constitution’s sanctity.
The Federal Government has requested the Supreme Court to invoke sections 1, 4, 5, 7, and 14 of the constitution, asserting that governors and state houses of assembly are constitutionally obligated to ensure the establishment of democratically elected local government systems.
