In response to last Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling that prohibited federal allocation to councils administered by caretaker committees, no fewer than 13 states have set dates for local government elections.
The states preparing for council polls include Kaduna, Kogi, Bauchi, Katsina, Osun, Enugu, Benue, Rivers, Jigawa, Imo, Kebbi, Abia, and Anambra.
On Tuesday, the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission announced that its council poll would take place on October 19, 2024.
The Supreme Court’s judgment, delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, declared it unconstitutional for state governors to control funds allocated to local government councils. The seven-man panel asserted that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds independently.
The court emphasized that state governments lack the authority to appoint caretaker committees, stating that only democratically elected local governments are legitimate. “A democratically elected local government is sacrosanct and non-negotiable,” the apex court declared, ending the practice of appointing caretaker committees by state governors.
The ruling stated that using caretaker committees to administer local governments violates the 1999 Constitution. It affirmed that local government areas should be governed by democratically elected officials, criticizing state governments for abusing their power.
The Supreme Court further prohibited state governors from receiving, retaining, or spending local government allocations. The court described this longstanding practice as a clear violation of section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates that funds from the federation account be distributed to all three tiers of government.
Justice Agim asserted, “I hold that the state’s retention of the local government funds is unconstitutional. Demands of justice require a progressive interpretation of the law. It is the position of this court that the federation can pay LGA allocations to the LGAs directly or pay them through the states. In this case, since paying them through states has not worked, justice of this case demands that LGA allocations from the federation account should henceforth be paid directly to the LGAs.”
The Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, along with the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), reportedly scheduled a meeting for Tuesday with Federal Accounts and Allocation Committee officials to discuss implementing the Supreme Court’s verdict. However, The PUNCH was unable to confirm if the meeting took place.
In Kaduna, SIECOM Chairperson Hajara Mohammed announced the council poll date during a meeting with political parties and stakeholders on Tuesday. She explained that the current council officials were sworn into office on November 1, 2021, and their three-year tenure would end on October 31, 2024.
