President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, advised state governors on Thursday to respect the Supreme Court judgement that granted autonomy to the 774 local government areas in the country.
This is as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Trajudeen Abbas, has described the judgment as an impossibility that has become a reality.
Speaking to State House correspondents after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Akpabio 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 but 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 full implementation.
“Because you know the words of the Supreme Court are like the words of the king, they cannot go down to the ground without implementation.
“So I think this is a great day for democracy, and I congratulate the president for this initiative. And I know that all Nigerians now know that local government administration is an arm of government meant for the grassroots, and their money should be for the grassroots.
And definitely, local governments can now undertake projects on their own. So it’s a great day for democracy and the beginning of great things to come.
What will you be telling governors who seem not to conduct elections at local government level?
“I have seen the judgement; I will study the judgement. But at the same time, I advise 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.
“So, it’s a great thing that the Supreme Court has done the needful, and now we have to go back and think, working with the AGF’s office and the parliament to see how we can ensure that there’s real election at the LG levels.
“I think once that is done, everybody will have confidence. It’s progress for democracy, and that is how it should be. So we congratulate the justices of the Supreme Court, and we in the parliament are determined to make sure there’s enforceability.”
Describing the judgement as an impossibility that has become a reality, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Trajudeen Abbas, said, “The members have been very happy because history has been made. This is an issue that has been before the parliament for the past twenty years.
“All the constitutional amendments that were so far carried by the National Assembly, one aspect of it has always been local government autonomy—how to make the LG work independently.
“Today, that impossibility became a reality; everyone is happy, and we are looking forward to LGs that will work functionally and that will be able to work on their own and extend goodwill to their own people undisturbed by the excesses by the state governors.”
On his part, the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, said, “Naturally, one will be happy, should be happy; Nigerians are happy about it.
“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.”
On how to ensure compliance with the part of the judgment that requires state governments to conduct elections for government areas, he said:
“The ball is in the court of the governors; let us see what they will come out with, but the judgment is clear as to what they should do; the judgment is clear as to what consequences will be attached to failure or refusal to follow the judgment of the Supreme Court, which takes immediate effect.”
