Senior Advocate of Nigeria and human rights activist Femi Falana has publicly supported the recent Supreme Court ruling that instructs state governments to stop controlling the federal allocations intended for local governments.
Speaking on Channels Television’s flagship program, Sunrise Daily, on Friday, Falana emphasized that the judgment aims to foster accountability at the grassroots level rather than diminish state influence over local government affairs.
Falana explained, “A lot depends on the Nigerian people because right now, it is difficult to talk about the autonomy of the local government. The state’s electoral commissions are manned by appointees of the state governors. And what they have done over the years is to manipulate the local government elections in a way that only the candidates of the ruling parties would be declared the winners.”
He further elaborated on the expected responsibilities of local governments, stating, “Now, local governments would be expected to fix some schools, tar some roads, and even pay some workers. So, it is not that state governments will no longer participate in the affairs of the local governments…the state governments should create state economic councils and allow the local government to participate in them, just like they are part of the federal economic council.”
The Supreme Court, in its lead judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim on Thursday, mandated the Federal Government to commence the immediate and direct payment of local government funds into their exclusive accounts. This ruling addresses the long-standing issue of financial autonomy for local governments, which has been obstructed by state governments for decades.
Falana concluded by urging state governors to study the judgment carefully, noting, “The judgment has to be studied by the governors so that everybody will appreciate that what the Supreme Court has done is to promote public accountability at the grassroots levels.”
This landmark ruling by the apex court is seen as a huge step towards ensuring financial independence and improved governance for local governments across Nigeria….Seë_Morë