In trending news, the Federal Government of Nigeria has dragged the thirty-six elected Governors in Nigeria to the apex court of the country.
Local Government Areas make up the third tier of government viz Federal, State, and LGA but in reality, the last cadre in the three tiers of the government don’t have autonomy.
Local Government elections are conducted by State electoral umpires instead of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and in most cases, parties controlled by the sitting Governors of the states sweep elections in LGA leaving the opposition with no equal level playing ground in the conduct of free, fair and credible elections into the Local Councils as expected in democracy.
Local Government Areas in each state are not independent of the State Government controlled by the State Governors. This has limited the LGAs elected chairmen to receive allocations directly from the Federal Government just like how States receive allocations directly from the Federal Government without passing through the regional/geopolitical zone process.
In some States, State Governors in the past have been accused of suspending or dismissing elected Local Government Area Chairmen who fall out of political goodwill with them. Many people have criticized the act of some Governors as lacking the capacity to suspend Council Chairmen who were elected by electorates and never a mere political appointment.
The judgment of the Supreme Court will determine the fate of the LGAs in pursuit of autonomy following the suit brought by the Federal Government for legal interpretation.