The Supreme Court on Thursday fixed June 13 to hear a suit filed by the Federal Government against the 36 state governors over alleged misconduct in the handling of local government affairs
Justice Garba Lawal fixed the date while ruling in an application for abridgment of time argued by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to allow time for all parties to file their processes and exchange the same.
He ordered the 36 state governors of the federation to file their respective defence to a suit instituted against them by the federal government seeking for full autonomy for the 774 local governments in the country.
Mr Lawal who led a seven-man panel of the apex court said that the decision of the court was predicated on the national urgency of the suit and the non-objection from the attorneys general of the states of the federation.
The apex court also ordered the attorney general of the federal of the federation that upon receipt of the governors’ defences, he must file his reply within two days.
He ordered that the eight states that were not in attendance at Thursday’s proceedings must be served with fresh hearing notice.
The eight states are Borno, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Oyo and Sokoto, whose attorneys general were absent in court, despite being served with hearing notice.
The Federal Government had dragged the 36 state governors to the Supreme Court over alleged misconduct in the handling of local government affairs
Mr Fagbemi instituted the action against the governors to seek full autonomy for local governments as the third tier of government.
According to Mr Fagbemi, the suit is a deliberate attempt at removing local governments from gross abuse by the state governors.
In the suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, the AGF is praying the apex court for an order prohibiting state governors from unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected leaders for local governments.
The governors were sued through their respective state Attorneys General.
The suit is predicated on 27 grounds among which are that the Nigeria Federation is a creation of the 1999 Constitution with the President as head of the federal executive arm of the Federation who has sworn to uphold and give effect to the provisions of the Constitution.
The originating summons personally signed by Mr Fagbemi, has been fixed May 30 for hearing.
He is praying the court 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.
He also sought an order stopping governors from constituting caretaker committees to run the affairs of local governments as against the constitutionally recognised and guaranteed democratically elected system.
He 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.
Mr Fagbemi asked the apex court to invoke sections 1, 4, 5, 7 and 14 of the constitution to declare that the state governors and state Houses of Assembly are under obligation to ensure democratic system at the third tier of government.
The suit also wants the apex court to invoke the same sections to hold that the governors cannot lawfully dissolve democratically elected local government councils.
In a 13-paragraph