By Chinyere Nnaemeka
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said the Local Government Chairmen have no more excuses why they should not provide good governance at the grassroots, saying the Supreme Court judgement has reaffirmed their statutory rights.
He continued, “The Renewed Hope Agenda is about the people of this country, at all levels, irrespective of faith, tribe, gender, political affiliation, or any other artificial line they say exists between us. This country belongs to all of us.
“By virtue of this judgement, our people – especially the poor will be able to hold their local leaders to account for their actions and inactions. What is sent to local government accounts will be known, and services must now be provided without excuses.
“My administration instituted this suit because of our unwavering belief that our people must have relief and today’s judgement will ensure that it will be only those local officials elected by the people that will control the resources of the people.
“This judgement stands as a resounding affirmation that we can use legitimate means of redress to restructure our country and restructure our economy to make Nigeria a better place to live in and a fairer society for all of our people.
“I commend the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) for his diligence and patriotic effort on this important assignment.
“My administration remains committed to protecting the principles of the charter governing citizens, institutions of government, arms, and tiers of government in furtherance of building an efficient and performance-driven governance system that works for every Nigerian.”
Speaking also, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio on Thursday appealed to state governors to respect the Supreme Court’s judgement that granted autonomy to the 774 local government areas in Nigeria.
This came as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, said the judgement holds possibilities for Nigeria’s future.
The Supreme Court had on Thursday declared that it is unconstitutional for state governors to hold funds allocated for local government administrations.
In the judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the seven-person panel declared that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves.
The apex court also held that the power of the government is portioned into three arms of government, the federal, the state and the local government.
Speaking to State House correspondents after talks with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Senate President said, “Recall that the request was placed before the courts by the AGF because the Federal Government through President Bola Tinubu feels strongly about separation of powers and the need for autonomy of all arms of governments.
“And so for us in the legislature, the Supreme Court has spoken and we have no option than to abide by the Supreme Court ruling.
“So, I will just call on all states of the federation to respect what the Supreme Court has done and then we will go back to the legislature and see where we can dot the i’s and cross the t’s to ensure the full implementation.”
He expressed hope that the local governments can now undertake projects on their own.
Akpabio appealed to governors who have not conducted elections at the local government level to do so.
“I advise that there should be an impartial election at the local government level so that all the political parties can participate.
“At the moment there’s a lot of lethargy and nonchalant attitude by many political parties whose parties are not in power at the state level, they hardly partake in local government elections because of the perceived bandwagon effect and all that.
Describing the judgement as an impossibility turned reality, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, said, “All the constitutional amendments that were so far carried by the National Assembly, one aspect of it has always been local government autonomy and how to make the LG to work independently. Today, that impossibility became a reality.”
On his part, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi hopes that local government officials will take the initiative to develop their communities.
“I call it local government emancipation judgement because it has really emancipated the local government from the shackles of the past and I hope that local government officials will look at it as an opportunity to develop their various local governments,” said Fagbemi,
On how to ensure compliance with the aspect of the judgement requiring state governments to conduct elections for local government areas, he said, “The ball is in the court of the governors, let us see what they will come out with, but the judgement is clear as to what they should do, the judgement is clear as to what consequences will be attached to failure or refusal to follow the judgement of the Supreme Court, which takes immediate effect.”
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