The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Thursday mandated that the federal government should henceforth pay allocations directly to local government councils from the federation account.
The ruling aims to ensure that funds intended for local governance are utilized appropriately and not withheld by state governments.
The judgment was delivered by a seven-member panel of justices, who highlighted that state governments have consistently abused their powers by retaining and misusing funds meant for Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The case originated in May when the federal government filed a suit at the Supreme Court against the governors of the 36 states.
The suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024, sought full autonomy for the country’s 774 local governments.
More details later…
