The Nigerian Senate has found itself in the midst of confusion and deadlock regarding the implementation of financial autonomy for the country’s 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs).
This comes after the Supreme Court earlier this year ruled in favor of granting financial independence to the LGAs. The situation reached a critical point on Wednesday when the Senate was forced into an emergency closed-door session following heated debates on the matter.
The controversy began when Senator Tony Nwoye of the Labour Party, representing Anambra North, raised a motion after the sixth item on the Senate agenda was addressed. He cited Senate Standing Rules 41 and 51 to bring attention to what he described as attempts by some state governments to undermine the Supreme Court’s ruling on LG autonomy.
Nwoye expressed concerns that certain state governors were bypassing the Supreme Court’s decision by enacting local laws that mandate LGAs to deposit their funds into the State/Local Government Joint Account. This practice, he argued, was deemed unconstitutional by the court.
Nwoye’s motion, which was co-sponsored by nine other senators, called for the enforcement of the Supreme Court’s judgment and proposed six actions to ensure compliance. Senator Osita Izunaso from Imo West supported the motion, adding to the growing momentum behind Nwoye’s argument.
However, the debate took a turn when Senator Adamu Aliero of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) raised a point of order, citing Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution. Aliero emphasized that Supreme Court judgments are binding across the country and suggested that further debate was unnecessary since the issue had already been resolved at the highest judicial level.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio then weighed in, highlighting another constitutional issue. He pointed to Section 162, Subsection 6 of the Constitution, which establishes the State/Local Government Joint Account. Akpabio noted that amendments to the constitution would be required to fully enforce the court’s ruling. “I think what we need to do is to carry out required amendments of certain provisions of the constitution as far as local governments’ autonomy is concerned,” Akpabio remarked.
Before a final decision could be reached, the session descended into further confusion. Senator Nwoye invoked another Senate rule for personal explanation, while Senator Abdulrahman Summaila Kawu of Kano South raised a similar point. These simultaneous motions caused disarray, with many senators approaching the Senate President for clarification.
As tensions mounted, the Senate decided to enter a closed-door session at 12:46 p.m. to resolve the impasse.
This debate follows a Supreme Court ruling from August, which barred state governors from retaining or utilizing funds intended for the LGAs. The court ruled that LG funds should be paid directly from the federation account, calling the practice of using state-appointed caretaker committees illegal.
The Supreme Court’s decision, delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, stated that the constitution requires LGAs to be run by democratically elected officials and that any interference by state governments is unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court said, “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.”
This landmark ruling was the result of a suit filed by the Federal Government to secure financial autonomy for LGAs, with the court emphasizing that payments from the federation account should now be made directly to the local councils.
