FG To State Govs: You Cannot Rewrite Supreme Court Judgement On LG Autonomy

The Federal Government has cautioned state governors against disobeying the judgement of the Supreme Court on local government autonomy.

The Federal Government through the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, specifically said that no one has the authority to reverse the Supreme Court’s judgement.

Fagbemi, who stated the position of the Federal Government on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, while speaking with journalists in Ado Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State, said the decision of the Supreme Court as the apex Court of the land, is binding and non-negotiable, stressing that all parties must comply.

The AGF statement was against the backdrop of the recently enacted Anambra State Local Government Administration Law 2024 by Governor Chukwuma Soludo, who insisted that it was necessary due to the complexities surrounding absolute local government autonomy.

Soludo had said that “absolute autonomy” for the 774 local government areas in the country is unrealistic and could cause disorder if not carefully structured.

However, the AGF said that the attempt to amend the Supreme Court’s ruling was totally unacceptable as it would amount to rewriting the judgment of the Supreme Court.

Fagbemi said that once the Federal Government gets the details of the Anambra new law, it would act appropriately.

Commenting on the speculation of a three-month grace period for the implementation of the Supreme Court judgement, Fagbemi said that there was no such moratorium.

According to Fagbemi; “The judgment was passed, but we acknowledged the need to establish certain frameworks before full implementation. Nonetheless, implementation is compulsory and no one can avoid it.

“The federal government’s cautious approach is to prevent legal issues during enforcement of the autonomy. Some states have scheduled elections beyond October, and we are assessing whether those timelines are valid.

“We do not want to rush into implementation that could lead to legal complications or nullification by the courts,” h said.

The Chief Law Officer of the federation therefor warned that any state attempting to disregard the Supreme Court ruling would be in contempt.

In the words of Fagbemi; “I am aware that one or two states are heading in that direction, but they must understand that there is no moratorium for anyone. The judgment will be enforced”.