LG autonomy: Afenifere frowns at Supreme Court judgment

LG autonomy: Afenifere frowns at Supreme Court judgment

 The Pan Yoruba Socio-Political Group, Afenifere, has berated
the Supreme Court judgment that granted financial autonomy to local government
areas.

 

A statement signed by the leader of the group, Pa Ayo
Adebanjo and its National Publicity Secretary, Prince Justice Faloye, said the
ruling has done incalculable injury to the Nigerian state.

 

The statement is entitled: “Tinubu and the Grand Conspiracy
Against Democracy and True Federalism in Nigeria.”

 

According to the statement, “Afenifere views the judgment of
the Supreme Court in the case filed by the Federal Government on the so-called
local government autonomy as a sheer judicial conspiracy in cahoots with the
Tinubu administration against the Nigerian state and its foundational
principles of federalism.

 

“Rather than interpret the constitution to uphold its
elementary but overriding federal principle, which recognizes only a two-tier
federal structure of the central government and federating states, the Supreme
Court played to the gallery and wittingly allowed itself a most retrogressive
declaration that the power of the government is portioned into three arms of
government, the federal, the state and the local government.

 

“For the avoidance of any doubt, Afenifere makes bold to say
that in line with its negotiated basis of existence, Nigeria is a “Federation
consisting of states and a Federal Capital Territory”. as affirmed by Section 2
(2) of the 1999 constitution.

 

“While Afenifere frowns at corruption and misuse of public
funds at levels of government, it condemns in most unmistaken terms the
subjugation of the states and their constitutional roles, including the local
government system, to the whims and caprices of the federal government by any
means including obvious manipulation of the federation account as in the
present case.”

 

The group said that the 1999 constitution, which, in spite
of its flaws, gives life and power to the Supreme Court, provides in Section
162 and particularly subsection (6) that 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.

 

Source: LG autonomy: Afenifere frowns at Supreme Court judgment

 - NigerianEye

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