In the suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Federal Government accused the state governments of stifling local governments and withholding their funds. But the 36 states, through their AGs, vehemently opposed the suit and urged the Supreme Court to dismiss it. All 36 states in their response opposed the FG’s suit and appealed to the court to throw out the suit. The FG, in the originating summons, prayed the Supreme Court to make an order expressly stating that funds standing to the credit of local governments from the Federation Account should be paid directly to the local governments rather than through the state governments. “By the provisions of the Constitution, there must be a democratically elected local government system and the Constitution has not made provisions for any other systems of governance at the local government level other than a democratically elected local government system.

Source: Punch June 14, 2024 18:00 UTC