S’ Court ruling: No more excuses for LG chairmen’s non-performance– IPAC
The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Lagos State says there is no more excuses for local government chairmen with the Supreme Court’s ruling on Local Government autonomy.
The State IPAC Chairperson, Mrs Temilola Akinade, made this remark in an interview with newsmen on Thursday in Lagos.
She was reacting to the Apex Court ruling on Thursday granted financial autonomy to the 774 local government councils in the country.
In the landmark judgment, the court ordered the Federal Government to immediately start the direct payment of local government funds to the latter’s exclusive accounts.
In its lead judgment read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court scolded the decades-long refusal of the state government on financial autonomy for local governments.
Justice Agim noted that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves.
Speaking, Akinade, who noted that President Bola Tinubu’s efforts would restoring the glory of local government administration, said the ruling would yield a lot of dividends of democracy to people at the grassroots.
Akinade said: “That is the best way to go because. Our expectation now is that LG having full autonomy will help the council chairmen to do more in the various local governments.
“If they do not see this autonomy as a way if enriching themselves more, there is no more excuses for non performance at the grassroots governance.
“This is the high time the citizens question council leadership how they spend resources at their disposal for the well being of the people at the grassroots.
“With this, I don’t think there is any more story for local government chairmen. They need to do more for the people.”
The IPAC boss commended the President for taking the bull by the horns in approaching the Supreme Court on the matter.
She said that the President had provided a sure template for ordinary Nigerians to feel the impact of governance at the grassroots and in their various locality.
The Federal Government has instituted a legal action against the governors of the 36 states of the federation at the Supreme Court over what it calls their interference in the administration of local councils in their respective states.
The suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, is seeking full autonomy for all local government areas in the country.
In suit, the Federal Government specifically prayed the court to issue an order, prohibiting state governors from embarking on unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders.
The suit is also asking for an order permitting the funds standing in the credits of local governments to be directly channelled to them from the federation account in line with the provisions of the constitution as against the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
FG also prayed the Supreme Court for an order stopping governors from further constituting caretaker committees to run the affairs of local governments as against the constitutionally recognized and guaranteed democratic system.
It equally applied for an order of injunction restraining the governors, their agents and privies from receiving, spending or tampering with funds released from the federation account for the benefits of local governments when no democratically elected local government system is put in place in the states.
