LG autonomy: Govs should study Supreme Court judgment – Falana

Activist lawyer, Femi Falana on Friday said state governors should study the Supreme Court judgment that granted financial autonomy to local governments in the country.

Falana said the Supreme Court ruling would promote accountability at the grassroots level.

Featuring on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, said the ruling was not meant to strip the state governments of their influence over the LGAs.

According Falana: “A lot depends on the Nigerian people because right now, it is difficult to talk about the autonomy of the local government. The state’s electoral commissions are manned by appointees of the state governors.

“And what they have done over the years is to manipulate the local government elections in a way, that only the candidates of the ruling parties would be declared the winners.

“Now, local governments would be expected to fix some schools, tar some roads, and even pay some workers. So, it is not that state governments will no longer participate in the affairs of the local governments, the state governments should create state economic councils and allow the local government to participate in them, just like they are part of the federal economic council.

“The judgment has to be studied by the governors so that everybody will appreciate that what the Supreme Court has done is to promote public accountability at the grassroots levels.”