A former governor of Delta state James Ibori, has responded to the Supreme Court’s decision that restrained state governors from holding funds meant for local government administrations.
Recall that on Thursday, a seven-man panel led by Justice Emmanuel Agim ruled that the 774 local government councils in Nigeria should manage their own funds.
Reacting to this, in a post on X, Ibori argued that the federal government has no right to interfere with local government administration under any circumstances.
He said that the ruling undermines the principle of federalism as defined by section 162(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
He said this section states that funds in the Federation Account should be distributed among the Federal, State, and Local Governments as prescribed by the National Assembly.
He said section 6 mandates that each state must maintain a “State Joint Local Government Account” for local government allocations from the Federation Account and the state government.
“The Local Government Councils in each State on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the National Assembly”. Sections 6 provide further clarity on the subject matter.
(6) Each State shall maintain a special account to be called “State Joint Local Government Account” into which shall be paid all allocations to the Local Government Councils of the State from the Federation Account and from the Government of the State,” he wrote.
Ibori however contended that the court’s decision attacks true federalism. He emphasized that a federal system of government consists of only two tiers of government.
“The courts ruling on the matter is an assault on true federalism. The federal government has no right to interfere with the administration of Local Governments in under any guise whatsoever. There are only two tiers of government in a federal system of government,” he added.
LG Autonomy: Former Governor Rejects Supreme Court Ruling Says FG Has No Right To Interfere With Administration Of Local Govts
