(DECLARATIONS AND ORDERS SOUGHT BY PLAINTIFF AGAINST DEFENDANTS)
Recall that on the 11th day of July 2024, the apex Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment on what has become popularly known as local government autonomy in Suit No. SC/CV/343/2024 brought by the Attorney-General of the Federation against the Attorney-General of each of the 36 States of the Federation. It was a historic judgment as the Supreme Court, gave judgment in favour of the Plaintiff (Federal Government represented by the A-G Federation) against the Defendants (all the 36 States of the Federation represented by their respective State Attorney-General). In that judgment, the Supreme Court among other things declared that the system of democratically elected Local Government is guaranteed by the Constitution; ordered that with IMMEDIATE EFFECT, all funds due to the Local Government from the Federation Account should be paid to Local Government Council directly; States are no longer to receive funds due to the Local Government from the Federation Account; the Federal Government is entitled to withhold payment of fund due to any Local Government Council where there is no democratically elected Local Government officials.
The cumulative effect of this serialized or episodic intervention is to assist members of the public to clearly understand the issues presented before the Supreme Court and the judgment thereon. In part one, the fifteen questions formulated by the Plaintiff for determination by the apex Court were discussed. This second part will deal with the declarations and orders sought by the Plaintiff against the Defendants. To ease understanding by all and sundry, the 15 DECLARATIONS and 4 ORDERS sought are first presented simply without the corresponding constitutional provisions upon which they are predicated. Thereafter, these are supplied for the benefit of those interested in legal and statutory technicalities. They DECLARATIONS were as follows-
“1. A DECLARATION that, … the 36 States of Nigeria, or anyone of them, acting through their/its respective State Governors and or State House of Assembly, are/is under obligation to ensure democratic governance at the third tier of government in Nigeria, namely, at the Local Government level.” This declaration sough was predicated on the combined reading of sections 1(1), (2) and (3), 4(7), 5(2)(a) and (b) and 3(c), 7(1) and (3) and 14(1), (2)(a), (c) and (4) of the CFRN 1999 as amended read together with section 318(1), thereof, which defines “Government” to include the Government of a Local Government Council.
“2. A DECLARATION that, … the 36 States of Nigeria, acting through their/its respective State Governors and or State Houses of Assembly cannot, using State power derivable from laws enacted by the State Houses of Assembly (anyhow so called) lawfully dissolve democratically elected Local Government Councils within the said State/State.” This declaration sought was predicated on the combined reading of sections 1(1), (2) and (3), 4(7), 5(2)(a) and (b) and 3(c), 7(1) and (3) and 14(1), 2(a), (c) and (4) of the CFRN, 1999 as amended,
“3. A DECLARATION that, … none of the 1st to 36th Defendants can, using State power derivable from Laws enacted by the State Houses of Assembly (anyhow so called) lawfully dissolve any of the democratically elected Local Government Councils within the said States/State and replace them/it with Caretaker Committees (anyhow so called).” This declaration sought was predicated on the combined reading of sections1(1), (2) and (3), 4(7), 5(2)(a) and (b) and 3(c), 7(1) and (3) and 14(1), (2)(a), (c) (4) of the CFRN 1999 as amended read together with section 318(1) thereof, which defines, “Government” to include the Government of a Local Government Council, the 36 States of Nigeria, acting through their respective State Governors and or State Houses of Assembly.
“4. A DECLARATION that, … the dissolution of democratically elected Local Government Councils by the 36 States of Nigeria, or anyone of them, using State powers derivable from Laws enacted by the State Houses of Assembly (anyhow so called) is unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void.” This declaration sought was predicated on the combined reading of sections 1(1), (2) and (3) 4(7), 5(2)(a) and (b) and 3(c), 7(1) and (3) and 14(1), (2)(a), (c) and (4) of the CFRN, 1999 as amended,
“5. A DECLARATION that, in the face of violation of the provision of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by reason of failure to put in place a democratically elected locally elected Local Government Council guaranteed by section 7 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Federal Government/Federation is not obligated under section 162(5) and (6) of the Constitution to pay/allocate to a State funds standing to the credit of the Local Government when no democratically elected Local Government Councils guaranteed under the Constitution vide section 7 of the 1999 Constitution are/is in place.”
“6. A DECLARATION that, having regard to the effect of section 7 of the 1999 Constitution and section 162(5) and (6) of the 1999 Constitution, a State which is in breach of section 1(1), (2) and 7 of the 1999 Constitution by failing to comply with the mandatory provision of the 1999 Constitution by failing to comply with the mandatory provision of the 1999 Constitution is not entitled to receive and spend funds meant for the Local Government Councils by virtue of section 162(5) and(6) of the 1999 Constitution while still in breach of the Constitution by not putting in place a democratically elected local government system/councils.”
“7. A DECLARATION that, … any of the elected or other officials of the 36 States of Nigeria, who, through the instrumentality of either a State Law or an administrative directive/order, dissolves or causes the dissolution of any of the democratically elected Local Government Councils of their/its State has gravely breached the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, hence by that token has committed a gross misconduct.” This declaration sought was predicated on the combined reading of sections 1(1) and (2) and (3), 4(7), 5(2)(a) and (b) and 3(c), 7(1) and (3) and 14(1), (2)(a), (c) and (4) of the CFRN, 1999 aas amended read together with section 318(1), thereof, which defines “Government” to include the Government of a Local Government Council.
“8. A DECLARATION that, … the 36 States of Nigeria, acting through any of their elected or other officials that dissolve democratically elected Local Government Councils within its domain is not entitled to the revenue allocation and operation of a Joint Account … until such a State revenues to status quo ante bellum.” This declaration was predicated on by the combined reading of sections 1(1) and (2) and (3), 4(7), 5(2)(a) and (b) and (3)(c), 7(1) and (3) and 14(1), (2)(a), (c) and (4) and 162(3), (5), (6), (7) and (8) of the CFRN 1999 as amended,
“9. A DECLARATION that any money, including statutory allocations, grants, financial interventions or palliatives that accrues to any of the State for/to the benefit of its Local Government or Local Government Councils shall, on being received by any such States or its organs or officials, be remitted immediately into the coffers of the Local Government Councils of the State without any deductions and delays or excuses.”
“10. A DECLARATION that, … any elected or other official of the 36 States of Nigeria, who, through the instrumentality of either a State Law or an administrative directive/order, dissolves or causes the dissolution of democratically elected Local Government Councils of their State is liable to be arraigned during or at the end of his tenure (as the case may be) for criminal offences bordering breach of the Constitution/contempt of court and or breach of applicable criminal and penal laws.” This declaration sought was predicated on the combined reading of sections 1(1) and (2) and (3), 4 (7), 5(2)(a) and (b) and 3(c), 7(1) and (3) and 14(1), (2)(a), (c) and (4) of the CFRN, 1999 as amended read together with section 318(1), thereof, which defines “Government” to include the Government of the Local Government Council.
“11. A DECLARATON that, … the States do not have unbridled and unrestricted discretion to operate the ‘State Joint Local Government Account’ whimsically and to the disadvantage of the democratically elected Local Government Councils within those States, rather than for the greater benefit of those Councils, which are the third tier of Government in Nigeria.” This declaration sought was predicated on the combined reading of sections 1(1), (2) and (3), 2, 7(1) and 7(3), 14(1), (2)(a), (c) and (4) and 162 (2), (3) (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8) of the CFRN, 1999 as amended.
“12. A DECLARATJON that … the amount standing to the credit of Local Government Councils in the Federation account should be distributed to them and be paid directly to them.” This declaration sought was by virtue of section 162(3) and (5) of the CFRN, 1999 as amended.
“13. A DECLARATION that, … a State Government is merely an agent of the Local Governments in the State to collect the amount standing to the credit of the Local Governments in the Federation Account and pay directly to the Local Governments and as such agent has no power or right to spend or use any part of it for any purpose.” This declaration sought was by virtue of section 162(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999
“14. A DECLARATION that … the amount standing to the credit of a Local Government Council in the Federation Account and received by a State on its behalf, and paid into a State Joint Local Government Account is liable to be paid directly to each Local Government without further delay.” This declaration sought was by virtue of section 162(3), (5) and (6) of the CFRN, 1999 as amended.
“15. A DECLARATION that a Local Government Council is entitled to a direct payment from the Federation Account of the amount standing to its credit in the said Federation Account, where the State Government has persistently refused or failed to pay to it the said amount received by the State Government on its behalf.”
After praying the Supreme Court to make the above DECLARATIONS, the Plaintiff also prayed the Court to make the following ORDERS namely-
“16. AN ORDER of injunction restraining the Defendants, by themselves, their privies, agents, officials or howsoever called from receiving, spending or tampering with funds released from the Federation Account for the benefit of Local Government Councils when no democratically elected local government system is put in place in the State.”
“17. AN ORDER that the Federation through its relevant officials shall pay to Local Government in a State directly from the Federation account the amount standing to their credit therein, where the said State has refused or failed to pay to each of the or anyone of them, the amount it received or has been receiving on their/its behalf.”
“18. AN ORDER OF IMMEDIATE COMPLIANCE by the States, through their elected or appointed officials and public officers, with the terms of the judgment and orders made in this Suit; and successive compliance by successive State Government officials and public officers, save when the applicable provisions of the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999 as amended here interpreted are otherwise subsequently amended.”
“19. Any other or other orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in all the circumstances of this case.”
The concluding segment of this serilaised intervention will embody the summary of the case or arguments of the parties and the judgment of the Supreme Court. It will be interesting to know in detail the DECLARATIONS made and ORDERS granted and the one specific DECLARATION not made by the Supreme Court including the single dissenting judgment on the declarations on direct allocation of allocation to the Local Government Councils. Meanwhile, Nigerians are happy that the Supreme Court eventually upheld the constitutionally guaranteed democratic governance and fiscal autonomy of the Local Government as a third tier of government.
A new normal is possible!
Prof Obiaraeri, N. O.
OBLONG MEDIA UNLIMITED 
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