The landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in
SC/343/2024: Attorney General of the Federation v. Attorney General of
Abia State & 35 Ors (2024) LPELR- 62576 has completely changed the
narrative of the local government system in Nigeria for good. In less
than 7 months after the delivery of the judgment, several states who
have hitherto been operating illegal caretaker committees have deferred
to the judgment and conducted elections to usher in democratically
elected officials to administer the affairs of their local government
areas as mandated by section 7 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
In
the landmark decision, the Supreme Court liberated the local government
system from the age long shackles of States Governors who had hitherto
treated the local government councils as appendages of their offices as
principally manifested by the seizing of their monthly allocations from
the Federation Account through the Joint Account Allocation Committee
(JAAC) which has now been disbanded or in the least rendered moribund
per the Supreme Court Judgment.
The
onslaught against this vital tier of government was further
consolidated with the appointment by State Governors of caretakers to
oversee the affairs of local government areas in their States in clear
breach of section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution which mandates that
local government areas in the country must be administered only by
democratically elected officials.
On
the 18th day of January 2025, the Ondo State Independent Electoral
Commission (ODIEC) in compliance with the Supreme Court judgment
conducted elections into the 18 Local Government Areas of Ondo State and
at the end of the exercise, all candidates of the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC) were declared winners of the 18 Local
Government Chairmanship and 203 Councillorship seats in the State, the
main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) having withdrawn from the
election few days before the day of polls.
Hopefully,
the re-institution of what appears to be a democratic process at the
local government level in Ondo State would mark a permanent paradigm
shift in local government administration in the State given that in the
last 16 years, local government elections were conducted just about once
and only during the tenure of the late Governor Oluwarotimi Odunayo
Akeredolu, SAN. For a larger part of these years, the local government
system in the State had been in a comatose state with an incumbent
Governor running the local government as an appendage of the Governor's
house through stooges christened caretakers.
The
newly elected local government chairmen in the 18 Local government
areas of Ondo State are very privileged and well positioned at this time
to bring the dividends of good governance to their local territories as
the main excuse for inefficiency in the past being lack of or paucity
of funds have become a thing of the past. Lack of funds can no longer be
an excuse with the direct release to local government councils of
revenue due to them from the Federation Account.
It
is at this juncture necessary to commend the efforts of the Federal
Government through the office of the Honourable Attorney of the
Federation and Minister of Justice for the efficient implementation of
the Judgment of the Supreme Court especially the commitment towards
ensuring that local government areas receive the allocated funds due to
them from the Federation Account directly to enable easy access to and
control over funds without external interference.
The
new local government officials in Ondo State must be reminded that
citizens have the right and indeed the duty to hold them accountable for
the funds they collect from the Federation Account through the
invocation of the Freedom of Information Act 2011.
Remarkably,
Section 29(6) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011 designates the
Honourable Attorney General of the Federation as a statutory enforcer of
the Act, it provides:
"The
Attorney General shall in his oversight responsibility under this Act
ensure that all institutions to which this Act applies comply with the
provisions of this Act."
Moreover,
local government council officials in Nigeria are not immuned from
investigation and prosecution for corruption even while in office as
they do not come within the contemplation of Section 308 of the 1999
Constitution which grants immunity from criminal and civil proceedings
to certain officials of government who are basically the President of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, his Vice, Governors of States and their
Deputies.
It's pertinent
to note that the fiscal autonomy granted by the Constitution to local
government areas and recently affirmed by the Supreme Court opens up
opportunities for meaningful grassroot developments in given the
functions imposed on local government councils by the Fourth Schedule to
the 1999 Constitution. Deserving of special mention is paragraph 1(f)
of the 4th Schedule which empowers local government councils with:
"construction and maintenance of roads, streets, street lightings,
drains and other public highways, parks, gardens, open spaces, or such
public facilities as may be prescribed from time to time by the House of
Assembly of a State."
Furthermore
and among others, Paragraph 1 (k) (vi) of the 4th Schedule to the 1999
Constitution (as amended) empowers the local councils for the "control
and regulation of licensing, regulation and control of the sale of
liquor."
The implication
of these far reaching powers and responsibilities for the positive
development of villages and settlements in Ondo State cannot be
overemphasised. For instance, in recent times, many young people are
known to have become a menace to the society as a result of abuse of and
excess consumption of alcohol, the local governments councils cannot be
said to be entirely handicapped to rescue the situation if provisions
such as paragraph 1(k) (vi) of the Fourth Schedule are adequately
harnessed.
While
contemplating that local government councils are autonomous entities
free from control or interference by State Governments in the conduct of
their affairs and activities, the farmers of the Constitution at the
same time provided a connecting route for productive partnerships
between them and State Governments. Paragraph 2 of the 4th Schedule to
the 1999 Constitution imposes a duty on local government councils to
participate in the Government of their States with respect to certain
matters- provision and maintenance of primary, adult and Vocational
education; development of agriculture and natural resources; provision
and maintenance of health services and other functions as the House of
Assembly may confer on a local government council.
However,
It should be stated that the modus and terms of such partnerships
between local and State Governments must be made clear to all citizens
especially where it involves the utilisation of funds due to the local
council from the Federation Account.
Congratulations
to the new local government officials as they ascend their new
positions. It is the hope of an average Ondo State citizen that this new
era shall bring to greater manifestation of the dividends of democracy
at the grassroots.
Vincent Adodo, Esq., LL.M, NP.
Legal Practitioner
28th January, 2025
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