The Supreme Court has ordered the 36 states to file their replies within seven days to the suit by the Federal Government of Nigeria seeking financial autonomy for the 774 local government areas.
A seven-member panel of justices presided over by Justice Mohammed Garba, on Thursday, said that after the receipt of the counter affidavits to the originating summons, the federal government should file its reply within two days and that all the replies would be concluded on June 10.
The panel directed that fresh hearing notices be served on eight states: Borno, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Oyo and Sokoto, which were not represented in court during hearing.The panel fixed June 13, for hearing of the matter.
Earlier, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), told the panel that the matter was of urgent national importance.
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Replying to the AGF, the Attorney General of Ebonyi State and Chairman of the Body of State Attorneys General, Ben Odo, requested more time for the states to be brought into the matter.
In the suit dated May 20, 2024, the federal government is asking the apex court to make a declaration that by virtue of Section 162(5) of the Nigerian constitution (1999), the state government is merely an agency of the local government in the state to collect the amount standing to the credit of local government in the federation account and received by a state on its behalf and paid into states’ joint local government account.
In the suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024, with 27 grounds, the federal government further seeks to invoke Sections 1, 4, 5, 7 and 14 of the constitution to declare that the governors and Houses of Assembly are under obligation to ensure democratic system at the third tier of government in Nigeria.
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