The Supreme Court has ruled that it is a violation of the constitution for state governors to withhold funds allocated for local government administrations, paving the way for financial autonomy and independent management of resources by local governments.
In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court, through Justice Emmanuel Agim’s lead judgment, noted that the denial of financial autonomy to local governments by state governments has persisted for over 20 years, and has now deemed this practice unconstitutional.
Justice Agim emphasized that all 774 local government councils in the country should have the authority to manage their own funds, exercise control over their financial resources, and make decisions about their own budgetary allocations.
Accordingly, the Supreme Court ordered that henceforth, the allocations meant for Local Governments from the Federation Account should be paid directly to the Local Governments themselves, bypassing the state governments, to ensure autonomy and direct control over their financial resources.