President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is currently meeting behind closed doors with Vice President Kashim Shettima and several governors at the State House in Abuja.
This meeting began shortly after President Tinubu concluded discussions with leaders of the organized labor, who had come to discuss the anticipated new minimum wage.
The governors in attendance include AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF); Charles Soludo of Anambra; and Usman Ododo of Kogi.
While the agenda of the meeting has not been disclosed, it follows closely on the heels of a landmark Supreme Court judgment on the financial independence of local governments. The Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Government must directly pay any funds allocated to local governments to those managed by democratically elected officials.
The Court also deemed it illegal for governors to dissolve democratically elected local governments and ordered the federal government to withhold allocations to local governments governed by unelected officials appointed by governors.
This judgment, resulting from a suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) seeking full autonomy for local government administrations, is seen as a significant victory for local governments and the federal government.
