Kwara government says it believes in full LG autonomy

AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the governor of Kwara State, stated on Tuesday that he supports local government units having complete autonomy.

He made it clear that the state’s stance in the current judicial processes concerning local government is that it does not contravene any autonomy-related provisions of the legislation.

“It is my personal belief that each local government should manage its resources and be responsible for its obligations, including wages that are first-line charges. The State Governor should not be held liable if any local government is unable to pay salaries since we do not touch a kobo of their money.

“We also do not have any joint project accounts with any local government in the state, as was the case with the previous administration in our state,” the governor said in a statement by his spokesman, Rafiu Ajakaiye.

“These are my personal beliefs. But my personal belief is not necessarily the same as the letters of the law, including the provisions of the JAAC, which is a creation of the Constitution. As of today, local government allocations are sent to the JAAC as required by the law. Section 162 of the Constitution is very clear on this.”

He asserts that nothing the Kwara State local government does now will be in violation of these legal rules.

He said, “Our case in the court is not about my personal belief. It is, we believe, in the defence of the constitution, which created JAAC for reasons that are well-grounded in our experiences as a people. JAAC, in summary, pulls resources together to pay all teachers, health workers, traditional rulers, and other statutory duties listed in the schedule of the local government areas. If we all want these to change as a national consensus, we believe that the constitution will have to be amended to expunge JAAC.”

According to The PUNCH, the nation’s attorney general and minister of justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), filed a lawsuit against the 36 state governors of the nation in the Supreme Court on behalf of the federal government, demanding complete autonomy for local governments.

The AGF asked the supreme court to make an order that forbids state governors from unilaterally, arbitrarily, or illegally dissolving democratically elected LG leaders in a complaint filed under the case number SC/CV/343/2024.

As the head of the Federal Executive arm of the Federation, the President of Nigeria is tasked with upholding and implementing the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, according to the suit, which is expected to be filed on 27 grounds.

The AGF filed the lawsuit against the state governors through the respective state attorneys general, charging them with egregious misconduct and misuse of authority.