FG Litigates 36 Governors, Assures Full Autonomy For Lgs.

Federal Government says it has filed a lawsuit against the Governors of the 36 States of the Federation at the Supreme Court over alleged misconduct in the administration of Local Government Areas.

In the suit which was filed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince LateefFagbemi, SAN, the Government is demanding full autonomy for all LGAs in the country as the third tier of Government, and urged the apex court to issue an order deterring state Governors from embarking on unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local Government leadership.

It also seeks an order permitting the funds standing in the credits of local Governments to be directly channeled to them from the Federation Account in line with the provisions of the Constitution as against the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by Governors.

The FG equally prayed the Supreme Court for an order stopping Governors from further constituting caretaker committees to run the affairs of local Governments as against the constitutionally recognized and guaranteed democratic system.

It equally applied for an order of injunction restraining the governors, their agents and privies, from receiving, as well as spending or tampering with funds released from the Federation Account for the benefits of local governments when no democratically elected local Government system is put in place in the states, and the Supreme Court has fixed May 30 to hear the suit.