The AG’s prayers about stopping the dissolution of elected local government councils and against the appointment of caretaker committees also form the subject of the matter of Sesugh Akume v Governor of Benue and 4 Others (with suit number MHC/346/2023) at the High Court of Benue in Makurdi. These are not new prayers as the Supreme Court has in up to ten different cases repeated itself over and over again about the illegality of dissolving elected local government councils and appointing stooges as caretaker committees.
Last week Sunday, 26 March, I was made aware of a suit filed at the Supreme Court by the attorney-general (AG), Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, with suit number SC/CV/343/2024, against the thirty-six state governors concerning local government autonomy, and myself as a private citizen being involved in numerous public interest suits at the state, federal, and appellate courts seeking local government autonomy, I find this news heartwarming and delightful, and am one hundred percent in support of it and rooting for its success.
In this suit, the attorney-general (AG) asks the apex court to order the governors to stop the ‘unilateral, arbitrary, and unlawful’ dissolution of democratically-elected local government councils in Nigeria, to stop constituting caretaker administrations in local governments, to stop tampering with local government funds when there are no democratically-elected local government officials in office, to stop Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations to local governments with no democratically-elected councils in place, to end ‘unlawful joint accounts’, and to order FAAC allocations to be paid directly to local governments (and no more through the State Local Government Joint Accounts).
Media reports have it that part of the court papers by the AG read: ‘… that to continue to disburse funds from the federation account to governors for non-existing democratically-elected local governments is to undermine the sanctity of the 1999 Constitution.’ Also, ‘That in the face of the violations of the 1999 Constitution, the federal government is not obligated under section 162 of the Constitution to pay any state funds standing to the credit of local governments where no democratically-elected local government is in place.’ I agree absolutely! In fact, this is precisely my argument in the matter of Sesugh Akume v Minister of Finance and 6 Others (with suit number FHC/MKD/CS/54/2020) filed on 4 September 2020, and is still ongoing at the Federal High Court Abuja.
The AG’s prayers about stopping the dissolution of elected local government councils and against the appointment of caretaker committees also form the subject of the matter of Sesugh Akume v Governor of Benue and 4 Others (with suit number MHC/346/2023) at the High Court of Benue in Makurdi. These are not new prayers as the Supreme Court has in up to ten different cases repeated itself over and over again about the illegality of dissolving elected local government councils and appointing stooges as caretaker committees. In this suit, the AG merely asks the Supreme Court to repeat itself for the last time. The major difference and game changer is that if/when the prayer to stop funding local government councils that are not democratically elected is granted, that will be the end of sacking elected local government councils and appointment caretaker administrations in their place, or the appointment the stooges when the tenures of democratically-elected councils end. At that time, local government elections will become regular, predictable and held as and when due.
This AG deserves commendations for taking this bold, courageous, and patriotic step where others failed. When the Oyo governor sacked democratically-elected local government councils circa the end of 2019 /January 2020, the media reported that the immediate past AG, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, wrote the Oyo governor a letter through the Oyo AG, dated 14 January 2020, titled: ‘Unconstitutionality of Dissolution of Elected Local Government Councils and Appointment of Caretaker Committees: The Urgent Need for Compliance with Extant Judicial Decisions’, and referenced HAGF/OYO/2020/VOL.I/II, wherein he stated that: the local government system is autonomous and the third tier of government and the overbearing influence of governors and their non-adherence to relevant sections of the Constitution is hindering its role of development at the grassroots; that any local government run by caretaker committees is outright illegal and unconstitutional; and that in the coming days the federal government will be advised further on compliance measures that should be taken in the national interest.
Following this, I wrote to that AG a letter dated 23 January 2020 asking him to use his good offices to stop FAAC allocations to every local government that is not democratically elected as doing so is financing, incentivising, aiding and abetting illegality seeing as the unelected local government councils are unconstitutional. He never proceeded on this. This AG without talking took the pragmatic step.
On this AG’s last prayers at apex court on abolishing the State Local Government Joint Accounts and making FAAC disbursements directly to the local governments (and no more through the State Local Government Joint Accounts), I personally do not think the Supreme Court can or should abolish it or make the payments directly to local government accounts, as great as that will be. My view is that the State Local Government Joint Account being a creation of the Constitution—as terrible as it is and one of the numerous grave errors in this Constitution—if the Supreme Court begins to nullify sections of the Constitution by itself, that would be a usurpation of the process of constitutional amendment and tomorrow this same regime or another may by that same means seek other amendments that may not be favourable to the people and the country. (Imagine, for instance, the Supreme Court giving an interpretation that elongates the tenure of the president or makes a person the president for life!) I am, however, of the view that whereas doing away with the notorious State Local Government Joint Accounts through a constitutional amendment process is impossible, it can be lawfully navigated to forever stop the governors from manipulating and abusing them, such that all funds disbursed to them can go to the local governments untouched.
The AGs case has already begun to succeed as the Supreme Court granted his application for accelerated hearing. The matter was heard within about a week of filing and the governors have been ordered to reply within seven days and the AG himself is in turn to reply to theirs within two days. The matter comes up for definite hearing on 13 June after which there will be the judgement. (Contrast this with our local government autonomy matter in Makurdi, Sesugh Akume v Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC) (with suit number MHC/449/2024) which even though accelerated hearing was applied for came up for hearing for the first time two months and ten days later, and the application was denied! Or Sesugh Akume v Governor of Benue and 4 Others which has been adjourned indefinitely. Or the other case in Abuja has taken four years and is still ongoing!) In our own local government autonomy cases, which even if successful, can be appealed and the appeals will take years, with the AG’s case, there can be no appeal as the judgements of the Supreme Court are final. At this rate, the Supreme Court may grant its judgement this June, and if the matter is successful, there will be no June allocations from Abuja for all unelected local government councils in Nigeria.
Sesugh Akume
2 June 2024
Abuja