The Federal Government (FG) said it will organise a training exercise for Local Government (LG) officials and traditional rulers to educate them more about how to run the local council.

The FG also said the lecture will help everyone involved in achieving the goals for the local government autonomy.

The presidency announced this on Sunday in a post on the X account of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) media centre.

“To ensure the goals for LG Autonomy are achieved, the FG has finalized plans for a Capacity-building exercise for LG leaders and traditional rulers to enhance their understanding on the running of the local government system,” the post read.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, has said the Supreme Court judgement on the financial autonomy of local governments takes immediate effect.

The Supreme Court had, on Thursday, July 11, 2024, declared that it is unconstitutional for state governors to hold onto funds meant for LG administrations.

The Court also barred governors from dissolving democratically elected local government councils in the country, stating that doing so would amount to a breach of the 1999 Constitution.

In the lead judgement read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the court observed that the state government’s refusal of financial autonomy for local governments has gone on for over 20 years.

According to Justice Agim, local governments have since stopped receiving the money meant for them from the state governors who act in their stead.

He noted that the 774 LG areas in the country should manage their funds themselves, saying only democratically elected LG administrations are entitled to these funds and not caretaker committees.

Reacting to the landmark judgement, Fagbemi, in a chat with journalists, described it as local government emancipation.

“Naturally one would be happy, Nigerians are happy about it. I call it local government emancipation judgment because it has really emancipated the local government from the shackles of the past.

“I hope the local government officials will seize the opportunity and look at it as an opportunity to develop their various local governments. The ball is in the courts of the governors, let us see what they will come out with.

“The judgement is clear as to what they should do, the judgement is clear as to what consequences attach to failure or refusal to follow the judgement of the Supreme Court which takes immediate effect.” (The Guardian)

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