…Says it would pave for for grassroot development
The Forum of Councillors has hailed the Thursday July 11 2024 Supreme Court judgement granting financial autonomy to the third arm of the government, the Local Government.
The President of the forum, Yusuf Shuaibu Baba who briefed the media in Abuja on the Supreme Court verdict on Local Government Autonomy in Nigeria, described the ruling as the best thing that has ever happened since the return of democracy in 1999.
Baba said the judgement will usher in development as the local government chairmen would no longer have excuse not to perform.
“It is clear that the constitution of Nigeria recognizes federal, states and local governments as three tiers of government and that the three recognized tiers of government draw funds for their operation and functioning from the federation account created by the constitution.
“ It is also clear that in the provisions of the constitution, there must be a democratically elected local government system and that the constitution has not made provisions for any other systems of governance at the local government level other than democratically elected local government system.
“It should be noted that, in the face of the clear provisions of the constitution, some state governors refused to put in place a democratically elected local government system even where no state of emergency has been declared to warrant the suspension of democratic institutions in the state.
“We also agree that the failure of some state government to put democratically elected local government system in place is a deliberate subversion of the 1999 Constitution which they and the President have sworn to uphold.
“It is also agreeable that all efforts to make some state government comply with the dictates of the 1999 Constitution in terms of putting in place a democratically elected local government system, has not yielded any result and that to continue to disburse funds from the federation account to such state for non-existing democratically elected local governments is to undermine the sanctity of the 1999 constitution.
“Consequently, we, the leadership of the National Councilors Forum of Nigeria hereby present ourselves today, to rejoice with the Federal Government, the entire local governments of the federation and ultimately the Supreme Court, for this hilarious success of granting the local governments their constitutional rights and autonomy to that effect.”
